Wish For The Past
by Burenda
Summary: A misspoken wish lands Goten in the past, traveling alongside Bardock, the grandfather he never knew. Concerned for his friend's safety, Trunks soon joins him, and together they travel from Vegeta-sei to Earth, trying to find a way back home. -Complete-
1. Be Careful What You Wish For

(A/N While not my first fan fiction ever, this is, however, my first Dragonball Z fan fiction. I'm also a victim of American dubbing, meaning, most of my information about DBZ comes from what CN shows (though I've picked up quite a lot from the Net). I have not seen all of the Buu saga. So, if something's wrong with my fic, blame it on one or another of these reasons. *grin* You can always tell me about any problems through a review or e-mail. I should warn you, though, that I have a bad habit of not reading e-mail for long periods of time. 

I'm writing this because I'm tired of searching futilely for a good Bardock fic. I've found a few (emphasis on the word 'few') Bardock stories, but most of them are crap or Bardock doesn't play much of a role in them. I intend for this story to place Bardock in a leading role. Since stories tend to grow as I write them, I can't say for certain whether he or Goten will be the main character. You'll just have to wait and see. 

Needless to say, this is an A/U (aren't ALL fan fictions really A/U???). Goten is 8, but he's still a little shrimp who could pass for someone younger. I don't know how old Bardock was when he died (anyone out there know?) so I'm just gonna say he's 25 ish until I find out otherwise. Goku's alive, and so is Vegeta (I have no clue if they're dead at this point or not.) Just for the heck of it, Goten and Trunks both have tails. I KNOW they don't in the original story, but for my fic they do, so there. =P ) 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I DO own a Trunks wall hanging on my bedroom door (woo hoo he's soooo cute!!!) and three pages of DBZ/GT stickers. And a cute statue of Goku holding baby Gohan in his arms. Awww ^_^ I also own the idea for this story and any characters I make up. Ask me if you're gonna use them. 

That said, on with the story! 

**Wish For the Past**   
(Be Careful What You Wish For) 

"So what should we wish for?" Son Goten stared at the small, orange-red orbs that lay in a pile in front of the two boys. He placed a hand behind his head and scratched a spot. The thick black spikes that sprayed out in all directions stubbornly refused to be displaced, even by this casual gesture. Sitting besides him, the purple haired boy glanced over at his best friend, who looked so much like his father at that point that it was almost funny. Trunks Briefs shrugged. 

"We could always wish for more toys," he hazarded. It wasn't really important, since they had only gathered the dragonballs for the sake of something to do, not out of any real need for them. 

Surprisingly, Goten shook his head. "Nah, it needs to be something... bigger than that." The little demi-saiyan locked his innocent black eyes on his older friend's startled blue eyes. It wasn't _like_ Goten to actually think seriously about something, which was exactly what he was doing, by the look in his eyes. Goten's brows furrowed a little in concentration. Just as Trunks was about to say something, Goten's eyes lit up and he grinned the famous Son Grin (TM). "I know!" he shouted enthusiastically. "I've always kinda wondered what my grandpa was like." 

"What do you mean, Goten?" Trunks was thoroughly confused. "Don't you live near your grandpa Ox King?" (A/N Don't know if Ox King still lives with the Sons or if he moved out, so he'll live nearby in my fic.) 

"No, stupid, not _that_ grandpa!" Goten whacked Trunks on the back of his head in annoyance, although inwardly he was gleeful that for once he was the one correcting his friend's mistake and not the other way around. "I'm talking about my dad's dad. I don't even know his name, y'know?" 

"Ooooh, now I get it," Trunks said, his eyes turning thoughtful as he pondered what it would be like to meet the famous Son Goku's father. He didn't think long before he grinned widely to match the expression on Goten's face. "That would be cool! But we have two wishes, remember? What'll we do with the other wish?" 

Goten thought about it for a moment before wisely proclaiming, "We could wish for toys _and_ to meet my grandpa!" Both demi-Saiyans grinned in agreement, then turned to face the dragonballs, preparing to make their wishes. 

~*~ 

Bardock panted heavily as he faced off against Frieza. Despair wrenched the proud Saiyan's gut as he watched the glowing Death Ball swell on the tip of the purple and pink monster's finger. No one had believed him when he had said that Frieza was going to destroy Vegeta-sei, that the lord whom they had served for so many years would betray them. Now it didn't matter what he said or did. All he could do was give his life for the world that had given birth to him and so many others. In these last few moments of life, Bardock regretted the acts of evil he had committed in his life. He wished that he could see his two sons before he died, but that wasn't going to happen. It was too late. 

~*~ 

"Wait wait, Goten!" Trunks cried out before Goten could start speaking. The eight year old looked quizzically at the nine year old, wondering what he wanted. "Maybe we should use the other wish to get lots of good food. Your grandpa might be hungry after being dead so long." 

"Hey, you're right, Trunks!" Goten exclaimed in admiration. "I know I'D be hungry if I hadn't gotten to eat in years, or however long my grandpa's been dead. Okay, let's do it!" Grinning, he looked at the orange balls on the ground in front of them and said, trying to sound dramatic, "Arise, dragon, and grant our wishes!" 

The spheres glowed brightly, too brightly for the friends to look at. From the center of the seven balls a serpentine form emerged and grew. It expanded to fill the darkened heavens, taller than any building the boys had ever seen, with green scales and glowing red eyes. Those twin orbs stared down at the kids. "**YOU HAVE TWO WISHES. WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR?**" The dragon's voice rumbled like thunder, thrumming in their blood. 

"I wish for a big feast with lots of yummy food and stuff to drink," Goten said, trying unsuccessfully not to drool at the thought of the kind of food a wish-fulfilling dragon could bring. The dragon's eyes flashed and the meadow in which the two boys sat was suddenly filled with baskets and bowls of wonderful smelling food and pitchers of liquids. Goten's and Trunks's bellies grumbled in response to the sudden aroma filling the air. 

"**IT IS DONE. NAME YOUR SECOND WISH.**" 

Ignoring the food was hard, but somehow both Trunks and Goten did so. After all, there was something more important to be done. "I wish," Goten stated, his heart pounding in anticipation, "that I could meet my dad's dad." 

The Eternal Dragon's eyes flashed again. "**IT IS DONE. FAREWELL.**" With that, the dragon disappeared and the dragonballs shot off into seven different directions to lie dormant for a year before they could be gathered and used again. 

Trunks looked around, eager to meet the father of one of the strongest men in the universe. At first he saw nothing, other than the magnificent spread of food. He turned to say something to Goten, but stopped, his eyes wide with horror. 

Goten was gone. 

~*~ 

His vision swam, causing the little demi-saiyan to close his eyes before he got dizzy. When he opened them again, everything around him had changed. He was no longer in a meadow, but floating in the air above a strange world that didn't look like Earth. Although he was thoroughly confused, thankfully his danger senses were still working fine. Goten's eyes flicked immediately to the large ki in front of him and widened as he saw the Death Ball dancing on the strange alien's finger. 

Frieza, too busy laughing his victory over the 'stupid monkeys', didn't notice the small Saiyan boy appear from out of nowhere. "Goodbye, monkeys!" he howled with wicked glee, launching the planet-killing ball of ki down at Vegeta-sei. Coincidentally, Goten was right in the ball's path. 

Goten panicked. He was suddenly floating above a strange world and a strange alien was launching a potentially deadly blast right at him. Fortunately for him, he'd been trained well, so while his mind was blank from shock, his reflexes kicked in and he batted the sphere of energy. Straight back into Frieza. 

Unfortunately for the space tyrant, he was only in his first form and he was unprepared for this unexpected turn of events. He only had time for fleeting surprise to cross his cruel features before he was consumed by his own lethal attack. An unearthly shriek of pain escaped from his lips before he was obliterated. 

In the air above Vegeta-sei, two figures floated, both very confused, though for different reasons. Bardock simply stared at the child in front of him who was, apparently, unaware of his presence. It hadn't quite registered in his mind that this child - this _child _- had just defeated the strongest creature in the known universe. All he knew was that, for some reason, the fate of Vegeta-sei had somehow been diverted, and there was a child up here in the middle of the remnants of a battlefield. Certainly no place for a small child such as this. 

Goten, however, was wondering just what had gone wrong with his wish. 

~*~ 

A/N: End first chapter! Sugoi! Kind of a cliff hanger, I know, but you're just lucky I didn't end it in an even worse place. *evil grin* I have to admit, I haven't gotten to see the Bardock special. As far as he's concerned, I only have Net information that I've gleaned about him and his team. I don't know much about the average life of a Saiyan on Vegeta-sei, so I'm just gonna make this up as I go along.... Praise, criticism, flames (if you have a problem with something, tell me what it is, rather than just swearing and complaining pointlessly) are welcome. I consider myself a fairly decent writer and have had lots of practice with other works. However, since this IS my first DBZ fic, if you see a way for me to improve, tell me ^_^ 

If you have ideas for the story, I'll gladly take those, too. As I said earlier, I let stories evolve on their own. I only have a basic idea of where this is going and nothing really solid yet. Nothing is ever really solid until I hit the SAVE button. *grin* Sometimes not even then, heh heh.   
  



	2. Kakarot!

(A/N: I really have no clue what Bardock's character is supposed to be like. If he seems OOC to you, just chalk it up to either my ignorance or the fact that this IS an AU. Then try to enjoy reading this for the story's sake and not it's accuracy.) 

Disclaimer: DBZ is not mine. I only WISH it was mine. Trunks is not mine. I only own a really hot wall hanging of him. However, if anyone _asks_, TRUNKS IS MINE! HANDS OFF! *latches onto a disturbed looking Mirai Trunks* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Kakarot?!) 

_Oh crud, oh crud, oh crud!_ Trunks stared numbly at the spot Goten had been sitting in not more than a minute ago. It had taken him about ten seconds to realize that his best friend was gone and another twenty seconds for it to dawn on him what that meant. _Goten didn't tell the dragon _where _he wanted to meet his grandpa! Oh CRUD!!!_ Visions of the innocent little demi-saiyan lost in the depths of Hell flashed through the nine year old's head as he rocked back and forth slightly in shock. Trunks was fairly certain that Goten's grandpa would be in Hell. His father, Vegeta, said that was where most Saiyans ended up. 

Trunks was brought out of his stupor by a sudden flash of insight. His eyes widened further as he realized the implications of what had just happened. "My parents are gonna kill me!" he yelped out loud. "Goten and I didn't ask permission to go searching for the dragonballs. What'll they say when I show up and tell them 'Hey mom, hey dad, Goten and I ran off without telling you where we were going. Then we used the dragonballs and accidentally wished Goten into Hell.' Oh man, I am so dead!" He moaned and buried his head in his hands. 

Another thought formed in the boy's head, something even worse than the previous thoughts, if that was possible. "Oh no," he whispered, suddenly quite still, frozen in terror at the mere idea. "What will happen when Chi-Chi finds out?" 

~*~ 

Bardock stared at the back of the little Saiyan boy who shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near this battlefield, let alone in the middle of it. The kid was currently looking around with unhidden curiousity. As if he sensed Bardock's eyes on him, the tailed child turned around and Bardock came face to face with... 

...himself? _What the hell?!_ The boy who looked at him quizzically had Bardock's spikey, every-which-way hair, his obsidian black eyes, his nose, his mouth, his face. Everything about the boy looked like a young version of Bardock himself, though the kid had no scar on his cheek, as the older Saiyan did. Bardock was starting to question his sanity right about now. Frieza was... gone, and now he was face to face with a littler version of himself. Maybe this was another one of those visions, or maybe he was dead and had gone to Hell. Maybe he was still recovering from that last mission and the past events were really just a bad dream. 

These thoughts were dispelled when the 'little Bardock' did a very un-Bardock-like thing. His eyes widened and he grinned. A rather silly grin, as though he'd just gotten into the cookie jar. "You look like 'Tousan!" the boy chirped, forever banishing from Bardock's mind any suspicions that this might actually be a younger version of himself. Unfortunately, no new suspicions popped into his head to replace the old ones, leaving one very confused Bardock. 

"Huh? What's a 'tousan'?" Bardock tested out the unfamiliar word as he placed a hand behind his head in an unconscious gesture of puzzlement. Despite his green saiyan armor, he looked, to Goten, almost exactly like Goku did when he was confused. 

"A Tousan is a dad," Goten explained patiently. 

A moment passed as Bardock let this sink in. He eyed Goten thoughtfully. _He looks just like me. And he can't be that old, considering how short he is. Wait a second..._ Bardock looked very startled as he remembered something. "Kakarot!" he gasped, finally making the connection between this kid who looked like him and the son he had sent off to some backwater planet a few years past. (A/N: How old is Goku at this point? If you know, let me know, please. Until I find out, I'll just go with 6 or 7 years old.) This kid looked to be about the age his son would be at this point. Could it be? But how? 

"Carot? What? Where?" Goten's eyes darted around, looking for the aforementioned food. Maybe some of that delicious feast he and Trunks had wished for had come along for the ride. Much to the little Saiyan's disappointment, there was no sight of anything edible in the immediate vicinity. _Darn! I knew I should've eaten some of that feast before I made the second wish._ It hadn't really been that long since he'd eaten breakfast, but he could _always _eat more food! It was Goten's lot in life to be perpetually hungry. 

"No, no, _you're_ Kakarot," Bardock said, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so slightly. 

"I am?" Goten was confused. He scratched the back of his head in the famous hereditary gesture only his family could pull off. "But I thought I was Goten!" 

This made Bardock frown. "But you look like my son, Kakarot, and you just said that I looked like your father." 

Goten slapped his head with one hand, grinning in realization. "Oh! Veggie-chan calls my dad Kakarot! You must be my grandpa! My wish _did _come true after all! And here I thought something went wrong!" With that said, the little Bardock look-alike zipped through the air and into his greatly surprised grandfather's arms. He wrapped his short arms around Bardock's neck, grinning into the older Saiyan's confused face. "I'm Son Goten! It's nice to meet you, grandpa." 

If Goten had been paying attention, he would have noticed that Bardock was, one, having trouble breathing. Goten was hanging onto his neck, after all. Two, he would have seen a bewildered expression on his grandpa's face. 

_Grandpa? What the hell is this kid talking about? I'm barely old enough to have two kids, let alone grandchildren! _"I'm Bardock. And what kind of a name is Son Goten?" Bardock asked the first question that surfaced in his mind. You could hardly blame the guy for being disoriented. 

"It's the one my daddy gave to me, of course," Goten said as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. In Goten's mind, it was. Fortunately for Bardock, the demi-saiyan noticed that he was hugging his grandfather's neck just a little too tightly and he loosened his grip. 

_Thank goodness there aren't any other Saiyans up here,_ Bardock mused to himself. _ Even though it looks like Frieza isn't going to kill me, I'd die of embarassment at being caught with this kid _hugging_ me! And grinning like an idiot, too! Any gods out there care to tell me just how in hell a Saiyan child can be raised to behave like this? And how in the world did he get to be so _strong_?! I'm not exactly a weakling, and just having this kid hanging onto my neck nearly made me choke! _Bardock paused at that thought. The kid was strong. And he'd been in the path of that Death Ball Frieza had flung at Vegeta-sei. And the attack had been bounced right back at the lizard... by this boy?!?! Surely not! But how else could the attack have been turned back on Frieza? No one else had been anywhere near the blast. Could this boy really be strong enough to defeat _Frieza_? 

Bardock hastily detached Goten from his neck and held him out at arm's length, examining him. Once again, he was struch by the uncanny resemblance the child had with himself. And by the lack of resemblance. This boy's face was too innocent, too... open, to be his own face. Bardock had no doubt that this boy made a poor liar, though how that could be true for any Saiyan was beyond him. "If you're my grandson," he said, suspicious but deciding to play along with the kid's story for now, "how is it that you're here, when my son Kakarot, the one you claim is your father, is barely as old as you, if that?" 

"Well, y'see," Goten began, suddenly looking rather guilty, "me and Trunks made a wish on the dragonballs that I could meet you. I guess the Dragon sent me to the past instead of bring you to meet me. Maybe I shoulda been more careful in how I made that wish." He looked up at his grandpa's blank, uncomprehending face. This was going to take a lot of explaining, he could tell. He opened his mouth to say more when his stomach interrupted him, loudly. The little demi-saiyan grinned sheepishly. "Er... I don't suppose we could go find something to eat, huh?" 

A large sweatdrop trailed down the back of Bardock's head. Maybe the boy was more Saiyan than first impressions indicated. Bardock's stomach growled, too. "Okay, we'll find something to eat. And then you can tell me just what the hell you mean by 'dragonballs' and wishes and everything else." Bardock was still suspicious of this brat, but, hey, a full stomach just might be what he needed to clear his head. 

Goten scowled. If his kaasan had heard his grandpa using language like that, she'd be on him with her frying pan in an instant. His stomach growled again, louder this time, and he decided to ignore the bad word for now. Some things were definitely more important, like _food_!! 

Together, the two Saiyans descended from the battlefield in the sky, Bardock in the lead with Goten trailing not far behind, one troubled, the other happily oblivious. 

~*~

The end of another chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it! ^_^ If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, flames, etc. you can always press that little review button down at the bottom of the page. Yes, I know, Goku is probably nowhere near as old as Goten at this point, but, hey, it's an AU! Anything goes in AUs, hee hee. 

What will happen in the next chapter? Will Bardock believe Goten is telling the truth? Will Trunks have the guts to face the wrath of his parents and Goten's parents? Who knows? (At this point, not even I know!) Stay tuned for another exciting episode of... umm... *trails off* Oh yeah! Now I remember what the name of this story is! *audience facefaults in unison* Of Wish For The Past! 


	3. My Son

Thank you all for reviewing my fic! I'm so glad that my story has sparked so much interest. Wow. Sooo many reviews. ^_^ Thanks for the info about Goku's correct age at this time. However, for the sake of my fic, I'm just gonna say that Goten wished himself into an alternate past, where Goku's a little older (about 6 or 7) rather than just an infant. I have a good reason for this. Read to find out. ^_^ Oh, and if any of you know of any GOOD Bardock fan fics, lemme know about 'em in a review, 'kay? Thanks again! 

Disclaimer: No, I don't own DBZ. But Mirai Trunks here *indicates the incredibly handsome purple haired teen she's still attached to* says that he'll pretend that he belongs to me! *blushes* He thinks I'm great looking too. Isn't he so awesome!? 

**Wish For The Past**   
(My Son) 

"So let me get this straight," Bardock swallowed a chunk of meat, taking a swig of ale to wash it down. "You and the son of," he paused, looking around to make sure no one was listening in on the conversation, then lowered his voice, "Vegeta-ouji used these seven wish-granting balls to wish for food and for you to meet me, your grandfather? And this... Eternal Dragon sent you to the past, which is my present? And in your time, Vegeta-sei was destroyed by Frieza, leaving only Kakarot, Vegeta, and two others who are dead now as the only Saiya-jin alive in the entire universe?" The elder Saiyan shook his head disbelievingly as the younger Saiyan slurped his soup and nodded eagerly. Bits of stew dribbled down the front of his orange gi. "If it weren't for the fact that Frieza nearly _did_ destroy all of Vegeta-sei, and the fact that I don't think you could lie if your life depended on it, I don't think I'd believe you." _I believe him. Damn it, I must be losing my mind. A half Saiyan from the future who just happens to be stronger than the most feared creature in the known universe! And he's _my_ grandson!___

The older warrior sighed and and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on. Listening with only one ear, he heard Goten tell him stories about his other son, Radditz, and Vegeta-ouji's first visit to Earth, then Frieza, and the five androids of Dr. Gero: 16-21. 21. Cell. Made up of the most powerful beings in the universe, including Kakarot, Vegeta-ouji, Frieza, and his father, King Cold. Defeated by an eleven year old boy, Son Gohan. Another grandson of Bardock's. It was all more than the Saiyan could handle right now. _I need something stiffer than ale_, he thought to himself, then looked over at the young, _impressionable_ child sitting across the table. _Damn. Have to set a good example for the kid. Kids shouldn't be drinking heavy stuff at that age and he might decide that whatever I do, he can do, since I'm his grandpa. Damn it all.___

The talkative Goten was in the middle of telling his grandfather about some prank or other that he and his friend Trunks had played. "... and he was soooo mad, you shoulda seen his face! Hahaha!! It was soooo funny! When I saw Vegeta-san with pink hair I thought I'd die laughing! And me an' Trunks got _pictures!_ We have 'em stashed away somewhere where he'd _never_ find them, or Vegeta would blast them to bits. BOOOM! And then we wouldn't have anything to blackmail him with anymore." Bardock couldn't help but think that these two kids had a death wish. Pouring neon pink dye into the hair cleanser that the Prince of all Saiya-jin used.... As highly as he respected his prince, though, the thought of him with bright pink hair was amusing enough that even _he_ nearly burst out laughing. It took a lot of self control to contain his mirth. They _were_ in a public eating place, after all. 

"Goten," Bardock started to say, cutting the youngster off before he could start into another tale of his and Trunks's misadventures. "We can't go around telling everyone you're my grandson, you know. People already think I'm crazy because I tried to warn them about Frieza. Since Frieza _did_ attack Vegeta say, they've started to change their minds about that. No need to convince them otherwise. Even _I_ find it hard to believe that you're from the future. I don't know if we're going to be able to get you back to where you belong, but until we can figure out what to do, I need you to pretend that you really _are_ my son, Kakarot. Okay?" It could work. The boy definitely _looked_ like Kakarot. And with his ability to 'suppress his ki' he could fool the scouters into thinking he really was a third class warrior's son. The only problem was the boy's difficulty in lying. 

"So you'd be my tousan?" Goten queried. That was easy enough. Bardock looked almost _exactly_ like Goku. He thought for a minute. "And I'd pretend to be my dad! That'd be cool!" Everyone always thought he looked like a mini-Goku anyway and he'd always liked the idea of trying to be just like his dad. The only difficulty he could see was that he wasn't used to his dad being called 'Kakarot'. Except by Vegeta-san, but that was another story entirely. Nor was he used to being called anything other than Goten, or spawn of Kakarot, in Vegeta's case. Still, how hard could it be? 

"Right," Bardock agreed. "I'll call you Kakarot from now on, okay? And you just call me father." _Okay, one problem solved, for now. Now to figure out how to get this kid back to where he came from before the situation has a chance to get worse._ "You'll live with me until we can straighten out this mess." _It's a damn good thing his friend, Trunks, didn't come to the past with him. Given what trouble Goten, er.. Kakarot, says he gets into when they're together, I can only imagine the headaches I'd get trying to keep a low profile!___

"Okay, tousan," Goten chirped enthusiastically. 

Paying the bill for the meal the two had eaten, the taller Saiyan warrior led his charge out of the restaurant and towards the section of the city where he had a small apartment that he liked to call home. Sleep would be a good thing right now, especially since he didn't have the liberty to get himself dead drunk. No, he had a feeling he would need to be sober and well rested so he could keep an eye on the troublemaker who had suddenly become a part of his life. 

~*~ 

Thunder sounded in the distance as the first drops of rain splattered against Trunks's skin. He didn't care. Rain fit his mood really well right now. In just a few short minutes he'd be home, minus one Son Goten. In just a few short minutes, he'd have to tell everyone what had happened. The thunder, lightning, and rain sounded like a funeral dirge to the purple haired Saiyan's ears. Close enough. 

By the time the nine year old put his hand on the front door of Capsule Corporation HQ he was soaked to the skin and shivering from the cold. He opened the door and stepped inside. The door shut behind him, locking out the storm. Sealing his doom. 

"Where the _hell_ have you been?!" Trunks cringed at the familiar piercing screech that was his mother's voice. _Man, can she yell..._ he thought dully. "You and Goten told me you were going to play hide and seek and you've been gone for _days!!!_ Chi-Chi's been driving me up the wall with her constant worrying and you have the _nerve_ to show up, dripping water all over the floor, after three days without telling anyone where you were!" Bulma fumed, shaking her fist under her son's nose. Not that she could really do that much damage even if she _did_ hit him. "And I don't suppose you had anything to do with the Eternal Dragon appearing, now did you?" she added, her voice dangerously low. The look in her eyes could have melted glaciers. 

Trunks stared at his feet, his tail curling in guilt around on of his legs. Behind the blue haired human, his father leaned against a wall, his arms folded, acting indifferent. His eyes, too, were latched onto the squirming demi-saiyan. 

"And where's Goten?" Bulma looked behind her son at the closed door, as though expecting it to open and the other half of the mischievous duo to come running through it at any moment, laughing about some private joke or other. Trunks's heart leapt into his throat and tears sprang to his eyes. All thoughts of his father's lessons that tears were a sign of weakness were forgotten as the events of the past few days once again unfolded within the young boy's mind. 

"In Hell," he whispered, nearly choking on those two words. No longer able to hold back the tears streaming from his liquid blue eyes, he rushed forward and hugged his kaasan fiercely, buring his face in her bosom as sobs wracked his small frame. His mother's anger quickly drained from her own eyes as he brokenly told his parents the events of the past three days and the misspoken wish his friend had made. Horror replaced it instead. Even Vegeta's eyes looked slightly troubled, though heaven help the person who pointed _that_ out to him. 

_Riiiiing.___

Bulma had a sinking feeling in her stomach that it was Chi-Chi calling yet again to see if the boys had shown up yet. 

_Riiiiiing.___

"Trunks," she said, proud that her voice didn't tremble. "Answer the phone." 

_Riiiiiing.___

"Yes, kaasan," he whispered, not trusting his voice. He walked over to the phone and picked it up before it could ring again. Taking in a ragged breath, he prepared himself for what was sure to be one of the worst times of his short life. "Moshi moshi, Briefs' residence," he said into the receiver. 

~*~ 

Haha! Cliffhanger! I'm so cruel, to Trunks _and_ to my readers. ^_^ All right, is it just me, or does anyone else out there thing fanfiction.net needs to add Bardock to their list of characters in the search bar they have? 

Next time on Wish For The Past: Who's calling the Briefs' home and what do they want? How will Chi-Chi take the news that her little boy is in Hell with his grandfather, a man she's never met? Will Trunks escape the encounter with the Sons with his life? And what about Goten, er.. 'Kakarot'? How does he handle his new role on Vegeta-sei? And will the readers of this story every give any suggestions to the poor author? 

Thanks for reading! ^_^ 


	4. Telephone Blues

Sugoi! I got more reviews! And a few suggestions, too! Hurray! Er... Darkfire... _which_ kid should I get to Namek? *grins broadly* After all, both of them are going to be in this story. (I suppose I should file this under Trunks and Goten, now, instead of just Goten...) Once again, if any of you know how life on Vegeta-sei was like before it got blown to bits, please tell me. ^_^ Thanks! 

(A/N: Goten did NOT tell Bardock about being a Super Saiya-jin. Or about any of his friends/family being SSJ. Conveniently slipped his mind. So, as far as Bardock knows, no one has achieved the legendary status of SSJ.) 

Disclaimer: Who says I don't own DBZ? Can any of you _prove_ it? *gets poked in the back by Mirai Trunks's sword* Er... *coughs* I guess Trunks can. Okay, okay, I don't own DBZ. But maybe I can convince Trunks to sell me his sword.... No? Darn. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Telephone Blues) 

"Moshi moshi, Briefs' residence," Trunks answered the phone. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable storm of rage and verbal abuse that was Son Chi-Chi. Maybe if he held the phone away from his ears he could get through this without going deaf.... 

"Hi there! I'm calling on behalf of Waves and Rocks satelite TV. We have a brand new satelite dish that, for a moderate fee, we can install in your home! With this new dish you'll have the abilty to receive thousands of channels from all over the world." At this point, Trunks stopped listening. He stared incredulously at the phone in his hands, mouth hanging open in surprise. It wasn't Chi-Chi. It was a telemarketer. 

"And if you subscribe now-" 

"If you ever call this house again," Trunks interrupted in a fit of rage, his voice escalating to rival his mother's, "I'll rig the phone to send a feedback loop that'll make your phone explode in your face!!!" The person on the other end hastily hung up. 

Bulma scowled at Trunks. "What? It was a telemarketer. And besides," Trunks explained sheepishly, "we already have what they were trying to sell us." The frown on his mother's face lightened. Kami knows she herself has a short enough temper when it comes to telemarketers. Still... 

"I didn't know you could rig a feedback that would produce those results." Bulma was intrigued by the idea. 

"I can't," Trunks smirked. "But they don't know that." 

Vegeta smirked at his son with pride. The brat definitely took after his father. 

"I wonder if I _could_ make a device that did something like that..." Bulma's eyes glazed over in thought. "Maybe if I..." she trailed off, taking a few steps in the direction of her lab, her mind already racing at light speed. 

The purple topped demi-saiyan heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like his death sentence had been postponed. 

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_ "Bulma, I know you're in there!! Open this door _right now_ or I'll break it down myself!!" 

All three occupants of the room flinched. Vegeta hastily vacated the room, muttering something about having to train to 'show that baka third class Saiya-jin who is the strongest'. Bulma turned back to her son, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Trunks, as punishment, _you_ get to answer the door and tell Chi-Chi what happened." That said, she quickly retreated to the far side of the room and sat on the couch. She felt that she needed to be there to make sure things didn't get too out of hand. And to make sure that Trunks told Chi-Chi the truth. Trunks, resigned to his fate, miserably approached the door and opened it to find a startled Chi-Chi, her hand raised as if about to start pounding on the door again. In her other hand was her infamous, slightly dented frying pan. Trunks gulped. 

"Oh, hello there, Trunks," Chi-Chi blinked down at the little boy. "I guess if you're here, that means Goten's back as well." She stalked into the Briefs' home, looking around for her little Goten. Behind her, Goku and Gohan shrugged at Trunks apologetically as they followed the female Son inside. "GOTEN!!! If you know what's good for you, you'll come out _RIGHT NOW_!!! Believe me, young man, you couldn't possibly get into any worse trouble than you're already in!" Trunks could have sworn he felt the house shake down to its foundation from the sheer volume of the black haired woman's voice. 

_Oh boy. I almost wish I was in Hell with Goten, instead of here. Well, might as well get this over with. Goten, my friend, I have a strong feeling I'm about to join you up there._

"Chi-Chi-san, Goten's not here," the doomed chibi hurriedly stated, the words tumbling out on their own. "He and I gathered the dragonballs and he wished he could meet his grandpa - that's Goku-san's dad, not the Ox King - and he didn't say where he wanted to meet him, so now he's in Hell." 

Silence reigned for about one second before - 

"My baby is **_WHERE?!_**" 

~*~ 

Goten was bored. He wished Trunks was with him so he could have someone to talk to. (Trunks wished he was with Goten, too, but Goten didn't know that.) Either night lasted longer on Vegeta-sei than it did on Chikyuu, or Bardock was a late sleeper. Either way, Goten was wide awake in his grandfather's apartment while said relative slept like a log. So, to pass the time, he decided to explore his new, albeit temporary, if he had anything to say about it, home. 

The quarters consisted of one bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a closet where Bardock kept clothes and armor. That was it. He and Bardock had shared the single bed, which was, fortunately, large enough to accomodate the both of them. And at least the bathroom had a tub and shower. Goten had heard that some societies used communal baths and, while he wasn't body shy in the least, he didn't really feel like being around a lot of people he didn't know while he was taking a bath. Especially since he was supposed to pretend he was someone else, namely his dad. 

"My name is Kakarot. My name is Kakarot," he said to himself quietly, over and over. Best to get used to this now so he didn't risk slipping up in front of someone else. Currently he was poking around in the kitchen, mentally comparing it to the one his mother used at home. One table and two chairs sat in the middle of the room. Obviously, Bardock wasn't used to having a lot of company over. A drawer that had a few eating utensils. A cupboard with ten glasses, ten plates, ten bowls, and a few other odds and ends. A rather _large_ refrigerator took up most of one wall. A trashcan in the corner. A sink with a few more dishes was set into the opposite wall. Under the sink there was a larger cupboard where Bardock stored his pots and pans. All in all, Goten concluded, a fairly typical kitchen. 

The rest of the house was depressingly empty. The little chibi supposed that was the case with most warriors like Bardock, though he couldn't be certain. Vegeta certainly hadn't been one to collect niknaks. Maybe there was something else under the sink with the pans. Only one way to find out!   


Bardock was having a rather pleasant dream involving a rather large amount of food. He wasn't exactly sure what he was eating, since it _was_ a dream, but he knew that it was good and there was plenty of it. Dreams just didn't get much better than this. Dream Bardock lifted a dream steak, or something, to his mouth, about to take a bite. In reality, his limbs were splayed across the bed, his head tilted to one side, and a thin line of drool trickled from the corner of his mouth, which was smiling in bliss. The dream was almost vivid enough to taste. 

_Crash! Clatter! Clang!_

The noise scared Bardock out of the dream, a rush of adrenaline bringing him wide awake as he shot out of bed. Tripping over the armor he had left on the floor last night, he flew across the room and crashed into the wall head first. 

"Itai!!! Kuso, that _hurt!_" Bardock glared at the armor, cursing himself for not putting it away before he went to bed. Rubbing his injured head, he darted out of the room, half dressed, to find the source of the noise that had awakened him. 

In the kitchen, he found Goten in a pile of pots and pans, the doors of the cupboard under the sink open. The demi-saiyan grinned sheepishly up at his grandpa. "Oops. Sorry!" 

~*~ 

How old is Vegeta when the planet gets blown up? Isn't he something like 14 or 15? Anyone know? If not, I'll just make up an age and blame the details on AU. ^_^ 

Another chapter done! Wow, I'm writing these pretty quickly. Lucky readers. Please review and tell me what you think! And gimme suggestions! Funny things that could happen, places I ought to take Goten, Bardock, Trunks... you know, things like that. Thanks to mirei nochi for reminding me about Vegeta. Don't worry, Chibi Vegeta will show up sooner or later! *evil grin* And he'll wish he hadn't. Mwahaha. Stay tuned! 


	5. Breakfast Saiyan Style

I'd like to thank all of my readers and, especially, my reviewers! It makes it all worthwhile, knowing my work is appreciated. ^_^ Several of you have given ages for Chibi Vegeta when Vegeta-sei exploded, but no one seems to agree. Soo... I'll just pull another AU reason out of my Bag O' Excuses (TM) and just make up an age for the little brat. Ten is a good age. I would have originally gone with 14 or 15, but since most of my reviewers say he's between 5 and 10, I changed my mind. ^_^ See? Reviewing _does_ have results! 

Disclaimer: *waves Trunks's sword around* Trunks won't sell me his sword, but he's letting me borrow it. *nearly chops her own head off* Whoops... er... maybe that wasn't such a good idea. *hands the sword back to Mirai Trunks* What? Did you say something Trunks? Oh! I'm supposed to be writing a disclaimer! *grins the famous Son Grin (TM)* I don't own DBZ. I don't own Trunks. But Trunks is always welcome to stay at my house! Anyway, the only things I own here are the story idea and any characters I make up. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Breakfast - Saiyan Style) 

Slumping into one of the two available chairs, Bardock stared at Goten as the boy tried to put the pots and pans back under the sink. Every clatter and clang the kid made reverberated within Bardock's skull. _It's a good thing_, Bardock mused silently, _that I didn't have that stiff drink I wanted last night. No need for a hangover made worse by the noise my grandson is making. Grandson. Ha! Poor Kakarot. If he has to put up with this on an everyday basis, he has my sympathies._

Since he was already awake, Bardock decided he might as well get breakfast started. He wasn't exactly much of a cook, but he at least knew enough to keep from starving or poisoning himself. Fingering the still-sore lump on his head, he set out some bread, fruit, a bowl of raw meat, a pitcher of juice, and some kind of soft grain. Saiyan-sized proportions, of course, and enough to feed the both of them. He didn't know what most of it was, but he didn't really care. Food was food. 

"C'mon, Kakarot," he said. _Gotta get used to calling him that. _"Eat some breakfast." 

The chibi all-too-willingly complied, hastily shoving the last pot into the depths of the cupboard it had come from. Manners flew out the window as both Saiya-jin began to stuff their faces with wild abandon. Manners held little meaning to the warrior race. Goten paused in his gorging when he saw the bowl of meat. A look of disgust crossed his face. "You eat that _raw_?" In answer, the older Saiyan reached over, grabbed a hunk of the bloody flesh, and popped it into his mouth. 

"Whash wong wiff rahw?" (Translation: What's wrong with raw?) 

"Kaasan always cooks meat." Goten made a face as his grandfather swallowed. 

"You're on Vegeta-sei, kid. Saiya-jin eat their meat raw, which means you will, too, while you're here. Try it. It's good." Bardock proffered the bowl of meat to his grandson. The demi-saiyan only wrinkled his nose and pulled away. Bardock sighed in frustration, feeling yet another headache coming. "Look, son," he said, pulling his new 'father rank' in an attempt to get the boy to listen to him, "while you live with me, you're going to have to get used to doing things differently. And you'll have to learn to obey me as if I was your father, remember?" Goten nodded reluctantly. "So, as your father, I'm telling you to eat that meat like any other Saiya-jin would. Now." The sternness in the older Saiyan's voice left no doubt that he would shove the stuff down Goten's throat if necessary. 

Goten picked up a piece of meat and slowly brought it to his mouth. _Just think of it as sushi, or something. Sushi's raw fish, so this can't be that bad. Right? _He quickly chewed and swallowed. Surprisingly, his grandpa was right. It _was_ good, if a little messy. But since Goten had never been one to care about cleanliness, that wasn't much of a problem for him. He reached for another piece of meat. 

Nodding in satisfaction, Bardock returned to his own meal. 

After the two finished eating and had unceremoniously dumped the dishes in the sink, to be washed later, Bardock stood up and said, "I'm going to get dressed. Then we can go out and find something a little more... appropriate... for you to wear." He eyed the soiled orange gi that Goten been wearing since he'd wished himself into the past. It wasn't really orange, anymore. Mud, moss, grass stains, and food covered the stained the material to the point that its original color was difficult to guess. They also covered the boy underneath, Bardock noticed. "But before we can go out, you need to take a bath." Most Saiyans didn't much care about hygiene, but there was no need for his 'son' to look like he'd just crawled through a forest and then landed in a bowl of stew face first. Which might not be far from the truth. 

"Okay, dad!" Goten happily agreed. 

Bardock left Goten to his own devices, so he could shower and dress himself. A nice hot shower would feel pretty good right about now. He tossed a towel into the corner of the bathroom and proceeded to remove the rest of his clothing before stepping into the shower. The steaming liquid running down his face and his broad, muscled shoulders seemed to help relieve the tension headache that had been forming ever since he'd first had the vision of Frieza destroying Vegeta-sei. Bardock smirked. _Tough luck, Frieza. You got beaten by a mere 'monkey,' and a child, no less! Ha!_

_I sure am glad that vision didn't turn out to be true._

_~*~_

Goten was pondering what to do while Bardock cleaned up when someone knocked on the door to the apartment. The chibi hesitated, looking in the direction of the bathroom. His 'father' hadn't said whether or not he should answer the door if someone knocked. 

"Come on, Bardock, it's me, Raisu!" a muffled voice called from the other side of the door, followed by another period of pounding on the door. (A/N: Raisu is pronounced Rice-oo.) 

Well, kaasan always said it was rude to keep a guest waiting at the door, and since Bardock was busy, it was up to him to greet whoever this Rice person was. Brushing off some of the food that stuck to his gi in a futile attempt to make himself presentable, Goten ambled over to the door and opened it by pressing a button on the side. The door _swusshed_ open to reveal a tall man, though he wasn't as tall as Bardock. His skin was deeply tanned and scarred from many battles and his hair was spiky, shoulder length stuff that made his head look like the back of a hedgehog. The comparison brought a smile to Goten's face. 

The Saiyan, Raisu, fixed his surprised black eyes on the younger Saiyan. "Huh? Who the hell are you? And where's Bardock?" 

"I'm Kakarot!" the kid said cheerily. "Bardock's my dad. He's in the shower." 

Raisu frowned and took another look at the boy, noting his dirty gi, his height, and, most importantly, his strong resemblance to Bardock. "When did one of Bardock's kids start living with him? Last I heard, he was living alone and ranting to anyone who would listen that Frieza was going to destroy the planet." 

"Uhhh..." Goten blinked. "Well, I just got here yesterday." The kid placed one hand behind his head and grinned. "We're gonna go shopping after I take a bath." 

Before Raisu could ponder on the way the conversation was going, Bardock emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist which his tail held up by curling around it. His hair dripped water all over the floor as he padded barefoot towards the bedroom. He stopped when he noticed the other Saiyan standing in the door, talking to Goten. "Huh? Raisu? What are you doing here?" 

The other Saiya-jin gave one last look at the Bardock look-alike before devoting his whole attention to Bardock himself. "I just wanted to know how the hell you knew Frieza was going to destroy Vegeta-sei. And what _happened_ up there? Where's Frieza now?" Raisu leaned against the door frame casually, brushing an invisible speck of dirt from his spotless Saiyan armor. 

Bardock risked a glance at Goten, frowning. How was he going to explain this one? "Well, as to how I knew what that bastard had planned, it's because of that last mission I was on. The one to Kanassa-sei. Some alien there cursed me with foreseeing the fate of my world and not being able to do anything about it. I was pretty freaked out myself when I realized the bakayaro wasn't kidding around. And Frieza?" _Oh boy, what do I say? I can't very well tell him the truth! _"I don't know," he lied smoothly. "The Death Ball was bounced back by something and it hit Frieza. My guess is he's in Hell now, cursing the day he ever laid eyes on this planet." _Good. Claim ignorance and maybe you can get out of this one without telling him what really happened._

Raisu scowled, not satisfied with the answer. "Something 'bounced back' _Frieza's_ attack? Why do I find that hard to believe?" he asked in a sarcasm laden voice. 

"Well, how else would you explain how Frieza's own attack killed him, baka?" Bardock glared. Raisu wasn't exactly a friend. More of a friendly acquaintance. And Bardock didn't take kindly to being interrogated like this, although it was to be expected, given that he had known of the impending betrayal by Frieza and had been the only one to survive the actual assault on Frieza's troops. "Just because I was there doesn't mean I know everything." Which was true, in a sense. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to tend to my son." Bardock took hold of his 'son's' shoulders and guided him away from the door. A jab at the door's button caused it to shut in the other Saiya-jin's annoyed face. Bardock didn't care. Raisu could go to Hell as far as he was concerned. 

"In the tub, now." The older man's face softened as he looked at his grandson. _I suppose I should be grateful he didn't open that mouth of his and try to 'help' me explain what happened._ He plugged the tub's drain and allowed the steaming water to fill it while Goten stripped. 

~*~ 

Cool! Two chapters in one day! I'm on a roll. ^_^ Sorry, no Trunks scene this time around. Maybe next time. Heh. I was originally planning not to have him in this story at all, except in the first chapter. Ah, well, stories tend to have minds of their own, so Trunks is in here despite my earlier beliefs. Who knows? He may even end up playing as big a role as Bardock or Goten! 

Please review! I love hearing from you guys! I also love suggestions *hint hint* about where to take this story, incidents along the way, people you really wish I would incorporate in my fic... y'know, things like that. Do you like my writing style? Hate it? Want me to use more Japanese? Less? Want me to explain what each Japanese word I use means? (I hope not on that last one. That would be a pain.) I want inpuuuuut! Input makes for chapters being put out more quickly. Honest! So please please please review! 


	6. Go To Hell

Once again, thanks for reviewing. And thank you, Angel, for letting me bounce ideas off you. Really played a major role in how this chapter turned out, though you'll never now how much you affected it. Mainly because I don't know myself. ^_^() 

Disclaimer: Trunks is sparring with Vegeta, so I got teenage Gohan to help me with my disclaimer this time. *grin*   
Gohan: *smiles at Brenda* Aww, the readers already know you don't own DBZ. Why don't we go off and get some ice cream or something?   
Brenda: *sparkly eyes* That would be awesome! Ice cream with one of the greatest hunks in the world! *giggles and waves to the readers* I don't own DBZ! But I'll take this as a consolation prize any day! *flies off with Gohan to get ice cream*   
Gohan: Woo hoo! I actually got to speak during the disclaimer! Score Gohan: 1, Trunks: 0! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Go To Hell) 

"You let my baby wish himself to Hell?!" Chi-Chi screamed incredulously. It took both Goku and Gohan to restrain her from bashing Trunks with her frying pan. She was furious. "How could you do such a thing, Trunks?" 

"Aww, Chi-Chi, ease up on the little guy," Goku pleaded with his wife. "He couldn't have known what would happen." 

"Besides," Gohan chipped in, "Goten's the one who made the wish, not Trunks. It's not his fault." 

"I DON'T CARE! All I know is that my son is in Hell and no one's doing anything about it!" 

"Chi-Chi, relax," Bulma said soothingly, placing one hand on her friend's shoulders. "I have an idea. Goku, why don't you go to Hell and look for Goten? You know, use that teleportation trick of yours." The blue haired woman chuckled suddenly. "If Goten's in Hell, he's probably wreaking havoc somewhere, if I know him. Someone will know where he is. And if that doesn't work, you can always just look for a bunch of Saiya-jin. They'd probably know where your dad is, Goku. Wherever he is, Goten will probably be nearby." 

Chi-Chi whipped around suddenly and conked Goku's head with her frying pan. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Go to Hell, Son Goku, or I'm not going to feed you for a _week_!" 

The mighty Saiyan panicked at a fate worse than death. "Ie! Ie! No need to threaten, Chi-Chi. I'll go right now!" He placed two fingers on his forehead, a look of concentration on his face. 

"Wait!" young Trunks cried. Goku paused and looked at the little demi-saiyan. "I wanna go too. Please take me with you, Goku-san. Goten's my friend. If anything happened to him, I'd... I'd..." The boy's voice cracked and he couldn't finish what he was saying. He blinked back tears at the thought of what his friend must be going through right now. 

"Not on your life, buster," Bulma snapped. "If both you _and_ Goten get together in Hell, I have no doubt that all Hell will break loose, figuratively and literally. You're staying right here." 

"But Mom!" 

"No buts! I mean it, Trunks! I don't want to hear another word out of you about you going to Hell with Goku." 

Before Trunks could even open his mouth to protest yet again, Goku disappeared. Chi-Chi tucked her frying pan under one arm with a satisfied smirk on her face. She had complete faith in her husband. He would come home with her youngest son, safe and sound. She just knew it. "I'm going home now, Bulma. When my Goku gets back with Goten, they're both probably going to be hungry. Come on, Gohan, we need to go home." 

~*~ 

"Honto? Goten's not in Hell or Heaven?" Goku scratched his head in puzzlement. "But if he's not alive and he's not dead, where is he, Kaio-sama?" 

The short, blue, fish-faced God of the North Quadrant of the galaxy glared at his one-time student. "How should I know?!" he yelled. "I keep telling you, he just disappeared. Like he doesn't exist anymore. There one minute, gone the next." 

Goku looked thoughtful, which was a very odd expression to see on the normally clueless face the Saiyan tended to wear. It wasn't that he actually _was_ stupid. It was just that he preferred to take life as it is without worrying about things he couldn't help. Goten had wished to meet his grandfather, a person not even Goku knew, and that wish had caused him to disappear. But where? 

_Rrrrgghrrrr.___

All thoughts, serious or otherwise, disappeared from the powerful man's mind as he clutched his stomach. "Oh, man, I'm starving! Say, King Kai, d'ya think Chi-Chi will feed me, even if I don't have Goten when I go home?" Goku asked pathetically. 

_The life of his son is at stake and the guy can't think about anything other than his stomach._ "Honestly, Goku, sometimes your innocence astounds me. You're like an overgrown child, in a sense." The Kaio's eyes widened as he realized what he'd just said. "Get it? Innocence? In a sense?" He broke down in a fit of giggling at his own joke, rolling on the ground while Goku stared at the creature who was one of the best martial arts masters of all time. A huge sweatdrop rolled down the back of his head. 

"Er.. yeah. Umm.. I guess I'll be going now. Thanks for your time, Kaio-sama!" He waved as he placed two fingers on his forehead and vanished once again- 

-and reappeared in Capsule Corporation, where Bulma was watching television. Goku quickly told her about his discovery that Goten didn't appear to be _anywhere_. Maybe she could figure out what happened. She was, after all, a genius. And that would leave Goku's brain free to concentrate on one of the more important aspects of life without feeling guilty. 

_I wonder what Chi-Chi made for lunch....___

~*~ 

Unbeknownst to Bulma or Goku, Trunks had come downstairs in search of lunch, passing by the room his mother was in just as Goku popped into existence. And so he had heard every word they had said. 

_*I wish that I could meet my dad's dad.*___

That was what Goten had said. And now Goten was gone, vanished from reality, if what Goku said was true. Vanished from reality.... 

The chibi-Saiyan gasped involuntarily as a sudden thought struck him. What if... what if Goten's wish didn't send him to where his grandpa is now... but where his grandpa _used to be_?! That would mean that Goten wasn't anywhere to be found because _he was in the past! _Trunks's back straightened with determination. He needed to get to Goten. His friend really didn't stand a chance by himself, lost in the past who-knows-where. And there was only one way he was going to be able to reach Goten anytime soon. 

The nine year old boy ran back to his room. He had a plan. And he'd be damned if he let anyone keep him from helping his friend. 

~*~ 

_Kersplash!!!___

Water splashed everywhere as Goten leapt into the bathtub. He lathered soap all over his body, playing with the bubbles the suds made, his face positively glowing. Bardock reached down and picked up the soiled gi the boy had left on the floor. He wrinkled his nose at the odor it gave off and debated whether or not to just throw it into the garbage. Something fell out of a pocket somewhere within the clothing, landing on the floor with a faint clatter. The Saiyan leaned over and picked it up, curious. 

"What's this?" He held up the circular green and silver device. 

Goten looked over at what Bardock was holding. "That? That's the Dragon Radar. Me and Trunks used it to find the dragonballs. You just press that button and they show up on the green screen thingy if they're nearby." 

Bardock clicked the little button on the side of the radar. Not surprisingly, the screen remained blank. "We're probably too far away from Earth to pick up any signals." He sighed, then looked thoughtfully at the gadget in his hand. "But maybe if we go to Earth, we could find the dragonballs there and wish you back to where you're supposed to be!" So far, it was the best plan he'd come up with yet for how to return his grandson to the future. 

Still wearing nothing but a towel, Bardock dropped the gi back on the floor and left the bathroom. He'd wash it in the remainder of Goten's bath water once the kid was done getting cleaned up, since the warrior didn't exactly have anything that would fit Goten and he'd need to wear something when they went shopping. Dropping the radar on the bed, he rummaged through his closet for something 'casual', which meant something that didn't look like he was ready to tear the arms off anyone who wasn't careful. 

He finally settled for a pair of black, loose-fitting pants and an aquamarine shirt that would allow him freedom of movement. That done, he checked in on Goten again. The chibi-Saiyan had managed to remove most of the grime from his body and didn't appear to be improving anymore, so he ordered the kid out of the bath, handing him a dry towel. Now for the gi. Bardock plucked the garment up and tossed it into the soapy bath water, half-heartedly shaking it to loosen the debris that clung to the cloth. There was no way in Hell the thing would ever be completely clean and Bardock didn't particularly feel like trying to return it to its best state. He rinsed it and wrung out the water. It was better than it had been before, but that wasn't saying much. Still, it would have to do. 

Goten briskly rubbed his hair with the towel to remove excess water, then put the once-orange gi on, still wet, which was more than a little uncomfortable. "Can we go shopping now, tousan?" 

"Sure, kid," Bardock smiled faintly. Goten's cheerful disposition was beginning to rub off on him a little. Being around the boy made Bardock realize what he'd missed out on when he'd sent his son, Kakarot, off to some backwater world instead of raising him himself. It was something Bardock was surprised to find himself regretting, even if it was only a little bit. "Let's get going." 

~*~ 

Perfect. Everyone was asleep, even his father. No one would know he was gone until morning. If he suppressed his ki, not even Goku would be able to find him. Trunks snuck into the space ship, closing the hatch behind him. He had several changes of clothes, his toothbrush, a pocket case full of hoi poi capsules, which contained all the food he figured he'd need for the trip and a few other handy gadgets (like a second Dragon Radar), and even a couple of senzu beans he'd stashed away in case of an emergency. He really didn't know what he was getting himself into, after all, and it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. 

He'd left a note behind for his parents to find in the morning, after he was gone. It told them he loved them but that he had to go find Goten and didn't know when he'd be back. All true. He had purposefully left out his intended destination. No need to have them follow him. 

Now it was off to Namek, to collect the Namekian dragonballs! 

~*~ 

Brenda: I'm imagining Bardock in various scenes in this chapter... *drools*   
Gohan: Wait! Are you drooling for someone besides me!?   
Brenda: *baps Gohan playfully* Baka, I drool for all the hot guys in this story! If you took off your shirt, I'd drool for you, too!   
Gohan: *promptly removes his shirt*   
Brenda: *drools* Oh man, why aren't there guys like you in real life?   
Gohan: *smirks* It's a plot. Without any hot guys in real life, all the good looking girls will then become attracted to us anime-guys. *thinks* _Haha! I'm way ahead of Trunks now! He hasn't gotten to speak at all, even if he _has_ been in more chapters than me. And I got Brenda to drool over me. Score Gohan: 2, Trunks, 0!_

Brenda: I made this chapter a little longer than normal to make up for not having Trunks in the last chapter. Despite the fact that I originally intended to exclude Trunks from the story, I do _not_ hate Trunks. Trunks is one of my favorite characters. Especially Mirai Trunks, since he's still totally available. *grin*   
Gohan: Wha-?! Wait, I'm available too! I haven't technically met Videl yet, so I'm still completely available!   
Brenda: *grins* Really? Then you'll take me on a date?   
Gohan: Sure!   
Brenda: _I'm so lucky!!!___

Any opinions on how I've been characterizing Bardock so far? Am I making him too soft? Not soft enough? Is King Vegeta alive at this point, or did he get killed before Frieza destroyed Vegeta-sei? Should I destroy Vegeta-sei in this timeline? Not that I'm ever planning on writing another story concerning this alternate past... Still, I'd like the readers' input. ^_^ 

Please review! 


	7. Memories

*huuuuge sweatdrop* I'm such a doofus! I realized that, up until a few hours after I posted Chapter 6, I had blocked all anonymous users from reviewing my story. Baka baka baka baka baka! *throws herself into Gohan's arms and sobs* Oh, Gohan, can my readers ever forgive me?!   
Gohan: There there... *comforts the distraught author* I'm sure they'll forgive you.   
Trunks: *glares at Gohan, jealous that he's holding the ever-so-lovely Brenda* Yeah, and you know what? I bet that now that they know you didn't mean it, all of the readers who haven't been able to review will do so right after reading this chapter. *gives a pointed look at the readers*   
Brenda: *sniff* Ya think so?   
Trunks: *smiles beautifully* Of course. I'm from the future, remember? I already know for a fact that your readers forgive you and shower you in loads of reviews!   
Brenda: Liar. *grins* But thanks for making me feel better. *hugs Mirai Trunks*   
Trunks: Hey, you don't know that I'm wrong! *grins at Gohan triumphantly* *thinks* _Score Trunks: 1, Gohan: 3. Dang, he's still beating me. _*speaks out loud* Hey, how about I take you to a movie after the disclaimer. I hear they're doing a live action DBZ movie. (A/N: Actually, I'm not making that one up. SUGOI!! Planned on coming out in theaters sometime next year or the year after. Go to www.dragonballz.com to find out more for yourself. I can hardly wait!)   
Brenda: *grins* Great! You can pick me up at 5 and fly me to the theater!   
Trunks: *smirks* _Score Trunks: 2, Gohan: 3. Soon I will win Brenda's heart._   
(Sorry, mirei nochi! Just 'cause I'm going out with Gohan doesn't mean I've given up on Trunks yet. ^_^ I suspect this whole Trunks-Gohan thing will be a running gag for the duration of this story. Hee hee.) 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I don't own Trunks or Gohan, but the two of them have kindly volunteered to help me write disclaimers and do other odd jobs around the house. That said, I'm off on a date with the purple haired wonder. _I'm so lucky!_

(Another A/N: Did you know "Brenda" means "sword" in Norse? And "burning" in Old English? Or was it the other way around? *shrugs* Hee hee.... Maybe my penname should have been "Burning Sword." Wow... sounds like something related to Trunks. ^_^) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Memories) 

_Somewhere out in space..._

Vegeta frowned as he finished reading the messages on his ship's computer console. _Nande kuso...? My father is dead? Frieza... gone? What the hell is going on here?!_ "Nappa," he said via the intership communcations system. "Set a course back to Vegeta-sei." 

"Hai, Vegeta-ouji!" 

Two pods suddenly veered off their original course. The inhabitants of the world below saw only two comets swerve in an odd manner and slowly vanish into the night. The creatures that lived on that world would never know that they had just escaped extinction, for the planet had been scheduled to be cleared by the Planet Trade, which was run by the now-deceased Lord Frieza. 

~*~ 

Until today, Bardock had not had any idea that someone could enjoy buying clothing as much as his grandson apparently did. The kid ran back and forth through the store, amusing the shop keeper and drawing annoyed looks from some of the shoppers. Goten had been absolutely thrilled when Bardock had told him that he could pick out the colors of the shirts, pants, and gi-like clothes that made up the casual wear of the everyday Saiya-jin. When Bardock had asked him about his enthusiasm, the demi-saiyan had explained that usually his mom picked out his clothing for him, not giving him any choice in the matter. Apparently, according to this Chi-Chi, Goten's taste in color was a little... too bright. Fortunately for Bardock, there were no 'bright' clothes in this store. At least, not on the order that Goten was describing. Neon orange with yellow and green flowers? Ouch! 

In the end, Goten picked out two shirts, one a muted sea green, the other a soft, sky blue; two pairs of pants, one black, the other a sandy tan color; and two gis, one sea green, the other dark blue. They hadn't had anything in the orange that Goten favored, to his disappointment. Still, the fact that he now had a shirt and a gi that matched his 'father's' color of preference (sea green) more than made up for this failure. In addition to the other clothing, Goten now had two new pairs of Saiyan boots. The orange gi he'd been wearing had been discarded in favor of the brand new green one. All in all, Goten was one happy kid. 

Goten insisted on carrying his new possessions back to the apartment himself. Bardock grinned. That had to be the Saiya-jin blood in Goten's veins. His grandson obviously didn't want to be thought of as too small and weak to handle it. Speaking of Saiyan blood... 

Making sure Goten wasn't looking in his direction, Bardock surreptitiously slipped a scouter out of his pocket. Time to test just how strong the kid was. Not here, though. If he asked Goten to show him his power here, every active scouter in the vicinity would be able to read it. What he _could_ do right now was see what reading his grandson had when he was supposedly tamping it down, then compare it to his actual power level when he got the chance to see it. How someone could hide their ki was beyond Bardock. He'd never heard of anyone with such an ability, except for changelings who gained power during a transformation. However, the boy seemed confident that it could be done. 

Bardock slipped the machine over his ear, adjusting the eye piece, then looked at Goten and depressed a button. 

_Beepeepeepeep._

The scouter finally came to a stop after several seconds of beeping in Bardock's ear. 

_Masaka!!! No normal child could have so much power at that age! 1015?! Unbelievable!_

"Kakarot." Goten stopped and turned his head towards Bardock. 

"Nani, tousan?" 

"Your power level is too high. If anyone read it right now and connected it with you, an eight year old kid, you'd attract more attention than a herd of wild chatanols running through the streets." 

"Oops. Sorry, daddy!" Much to Bardock's surprise, even though he was expecting it, the numbers on his scouter started to slide downward, finally resting at 255. The older Saiyan let out a shaky breath. So it was true. Goten _was_ suppressing his power. And if he had thought he was keeping it low enough when it was at 1015, Bardock was almost frightened to think of what the chibi-Saiyan's power must be when he was at full. 

The rest of the trip back to Bardock's home was quiet, each Saiyan keeping his thoughts to himself. Goten's thoughts were blissfully free of anything negative. The kid couldn't have been happier. Well, that is, unless Trunks showed up, in which case he'd be even happier. He really missed Trunks. But the chibi wasn't going to let anything get him down right now. He had new clothes, a full stomach, and he was spending time with the grandfather he had never known. Life was great! 

Bardock, on the other hand, was feeling somewhat depressed. With all the excitement of the past two days, the loss of his team had been shoved to the back of his mind, to be dealt with when he wasn't occupied with anything else. The walk home was just such a time. Toma, Totepo, Panboukin, Celipa.... They had been more than just teammates, really. Bardock wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but they had been friends. And now they were gone. Murdered by Frieza's lackeys. 

Clenching his fists, Bardock angrily shoved his emotions back. If he let himself dwell on them, he knew that he'd only end up trying to find a way to get himself drunk. He had a grandchild to take care of and couldn't afford the luxury of drowning his emotions and memories in his cup. _Goten..._

Looking at Goten, Bardock realized his team had already been avenged. Frieza had sent his creatures to kill Bardock's team, and now Frieza was dead, killed by the hand of a child who was, in a sense, Bardock's own flesh and blood. A smile crept over the warrior's face as the two passed through the door into Bardock's home. Whatever else Goten might be, he was a great influence on Bardock's spirits. Bardock hadn't really had anyone who could prevent him from getting depressed merely by being present since... since... 

Since his wife had died. 

_No! I will _not_ get into that. I will not dwell on the past. I will spend time with my grandson and be happy. I can deal with all the emotional crap after I get Goten back where he belongs._

Bardock closed the door behind him with a sigh. Once Goten was gone, he didn't know what he would do with himself, or his memories. 

~*~ 

_Kuso! No one knows what happened to Frieza! All those idiots can tell me is that he attacked Vegeta-sei, then disappeared without a trace. Rumors of one survivor, but no one seems to know who he is. When I get back to the palace, there had better be some answers, or someone will die!_

The ten year old prince scowled into the endless depths of space. Technically, he was king, with his father dead, but Vegeta would not accept the title until he was officially crowned. Nor would anyone call him King until the day of the ceremony. On Vegeta-sei, heirs sometimes didn't live long enough to inherit that which was theirs. 

The little prince considered himself lucky that the planet he'd been assigned to was relatively close to his home world. In just a few short - or long, depending on your point of view - hours he would be able to breath the air of the planet that he'd been born on. Until then, though, he was stuck in this cramped little ship with barely enough room to raise his arms and only his loyal bodyguard, Nappa, for company. Ugh. 

~*~ 

_Somewhere out in space, in another time..._

Trunks heaved a sigh as he gazed at the stars through his view port. He was boooored. He had no one to talk to, no one to play pranks on, no one to yell at him, no one to train with. He missed Goten terribly. 

Once again, the young Saiyan looked over his supplies, making sure he had everything he'd need for when he got to Namek, and later, when he was in the past. He already knew he was as ready as he was going to get, but it was something to do. If Trunks wanted to keep his sanity, keeping himself busy was important. 

~*~ 

How long did it take the Z-gang to get to Namek? Been so long since I saw the Namek episodes, I've forgotten! 

Notes to Reviewers:   
Snarbald- Credit where it's due, I used your suggestion. Sankyuu! 

Lily- Sorry, no Gohan in the past. Goku's too young to have a kid yet. ^_^ 

Sandy02- Thank you for reminding me about the loss of Bardock's team. I haven't gotten to actually see the Bardock special, so it slipped my mind. And thanks for the info on Vegeta and Nappa not being on planet at this point in time. I'll just say that up until now Bardock's forgotten about his team, sorta. Hey, he's been through a lot in the past 24 hours. It could happen. ^_^ 

Peter Kim- I haven't gotten to see Kooler's Revenge, so I'm going to disregard everything that happens in it. Thanks for the confirmation, though. ^_^ King Cold might make an appearance. Depends on whether or not I wanna blow up Vegeta-sei. Mwahaha! 

As for Radditz... I really don't know if Radditz will show up in this story or not. He's off running around I-don't-know-where in space. Out of curiosity, anyone know how old he's supposed to be? Anyway, you'll have to wait and see if he shows up or not. As for Nappa... I really, _really_ hate Nappa, but it looks like he snuck into this story despite my feelings. I'm just the author. I have no control over what happens. The story controls me. ^_^() 

Thank you all sooo much for reviewing! And please forgive me for the block! I didn't know! Honest! And please tell me if you think I should blow up the world... er.. Vegeta-sei, I mean. ^_^() I don't want to keep Vegeta-sei around if it means the Goku of this time won't be able to grow up to be the lovable hero we all know. 

Sugoi, I got 50 reviews before I posted this chapter! Please review! I think my new goal will be 75 reviews. Thanks for reading. See ya next chapter. ^_^ 


	8. Saiyajin no Ouji

No one I've ever met really likes Nappa. I _hate_ Nappa. In my eyes, he is irredeemable. Nappa is a bastard and deserves to die. Anyone wanna help me think up ways to kill Nappa that would go with the flow of this story? In a review, please tell me how we can accomplish this civic duty! (Thus begins the Campaign To Kill Nappa!) 

Thank you all for reviewing, especially you anonymous reviewers who I previously (and accidentally!) blocked. I've gotten great ideas and information from you guys (and girls) and I appreciate your support. 

And as for you, Trunks...   
Mirai Trunks: Huh? What'd I do?   
Brenda: Not you, I'm talking to Chibi Trunks. He posted a review.   
Mirai Trunks: Oh, ok. I'll shut up now.   
Chibi Trunks: Well? When am I going to see Goten again?!   
Brenda: *glares* Sit down and shut up, Trunks. My reviewers informed me that the ride to Namek is supposed to take two months. I was going to shorten it to a week, since technology has probably improved since the Z Senshi went to Namek, but if you keep bugging me, I may push it back to the original two months.   
Chibi Trunks: Eep! Okay, I'll be good! I promise! Please don't make me sit in that ship all by myself for two whole months!   
Brenda: *smirks a very Vegeta-esque smirk*   
Mirai Trunks: *shivers* Kami, that's scary. Could we go to the disclaimer now? 

Disclaimer: You think I own DBZ? That I look like the acclaimed Akira Toryama, who, while a great guy that we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to for being the _true_ creator of DBZ, is, nonetheless, a _guy_ and way older than me? I don't know whether to be honored or insulted, since I'm a _girl_ and prettier than him. 

Mirai Trunks: Waaay prettier. *grins*   
Brenda: *blushes*   
Mirai Trunks: *thinks* _Score Trunks: 3, Gohan: 3. Tied... for now!_

**Wish For The Past**   
(Saiya-jin no Ouji) 

Vegeta stormed away from the landing pad, ignoring the sycophant landing crew that scurried around him, cowering in fear of the Saiya-jin no Ouji, as well they should. The young prince was in a foul temper. Frieza had murdered his father. Frieza was dead and no one knew who had killed him, thus making it impossible for Frieza to ever realize his dream of crushing the tyrannical bastard himself. And the stupid bakayaro hadn't even bothered to blow Frieza's ship, along with all his lackeys, to Hell along with the Planet Trade leader himself! Now the ship, containing Zarbon, Dodoria, and the Ginyu Force - Vegeta paused here to utter several colorful and graphically descriptive obscenities - had disappeared, probably to report to that bastard of an Aisu-jin that Frieza had called father. Great. Just great! Now instead of Frieza blowing up the world, his father would do the dirty deed instead! Claiming vengeance as his motive, no doubt. Bah! As if Cold actually cared about his son. 

Stalking up to the first person he saw who looked like they might have some authority, the little prince grabbed the other's tunic and roughly pulled him down so he could glare the man in the eye. "I want to know who killed that bastard Frieza and I want to know _NOW!!!_" he roared, his eyes promising a very painful death if he didn't get what he wanted. 

The hapless space port manager gulped, his eyes wide in terror. Sure, Vegeta was only ten years old, but even at such a young age he was more powerful than most Saiyans could ever hope to be. 'Most Saiyans' included the manager. And besides, this was the _prince_. If the Prince of all Saiyans ordered his death, the manager had no doubt that every being on the landing pad would jump up and obediently attack him. Unfortunately for the manager, he had no clue who had killed Frieza. He could only hope that his prince would kill him quickly. 

Indeed, it appeared that chibi Vegeta was about to angrily deliver a killing blow to the wretched being who dared remain silent. That is, until someone spoke up. 

"Wait, your Highness." 

Vegeta glared in fury at the person who spoke. "Who are you?" he barked. "How dare you interrupt the Saiya-jin no Ouji! Speak, before I blast you to the next dimension!" 

"My Prince, my name is Raisu, and I think I know someone who can tell you how Frieza died." 

~*~ 

Collapsing on the bed, Bardock stared at the ceiling as Goten put his new clothing in the closet. It was nearly noon, as the Saiya-jin's stomach was pointedly reminding him. That shopping trip had taken longer than he'd expected. Not that he minded, really. Bardock had enjoyed the time spent with the grandson he wasn't supposed to have for another few decades. Maybe he was just getting soft. He didn't care. 

"Grandpa?" Bardock turned his head to look at Goten. The boy had climbed on the bed and was sitting cross-legged at Bardock's side. 

"Yeah? What is it, kid?" The Saiyan warrior rolled onto his side, propping himself up with an elbow. There was a note in Goten's voice that Bardock hadn't heard before. 

"I miss my dad," the child said sadly, his eyes meeting his grandfather's. Bardock was startled to see the faint signs of tears forming in the boy's eyes. Bardock raised an eyebrow. _I guess it's finally dawned on him that he might never see his dad again if we can't find a way to get him home. Poor kid. Ahh, to hell with this 'cold, emotionless warrior' crap. No one's watching, anyway._ With that thought in mind, the warrior did something that was the very opposite of the hardened soldier image he had worn for the world to see for so many years. 

Bardock reached out and drew Goten into his arms, giving him a good, strong hug. No words, no fluff, no sobs or anything else. Just a hug. A hug that lasted for several minutes before Bardock released his grandson, placing his hands on the young boy's shoulders and looking him directly in the eye. The tears were gone, but Goten wasn't smiling. For some reason, that made Bardock's heart ache. He'd gotten so used to seeing the kid with a cheerful smile and a ready laugh that it just seemed... wrong... for him to look sad. 

"We'll find a way to get you home to your father, Goten," Bardock said, smiling what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "But until then, you're stuck with me. I hope that's okay with you?" Goten nodded half-heartedly, quirking his lips into a semblance of a smile. "Come on," Bardock mock-scolded. "You can do better than that." A twinkle lit the eyes of the older Saiya-jin and a genuine grin spread across his face as he started tickling Goten's ribs. "Maybe you just need some help getting that smile back on your face!" 

Goten couldn't help but laugh now as his grandfather attacked his sides with glee. Truly, nothing could keep this little demi-saiyan down for long. He tackled Bardock and tickled him back, the two of them rolling on the bed and laughing wildly. Bardock had never felt so alive before. Kami, it felt good to laugh! Never in all the battles he'd fought and won had he ever experienced a feeling such as this. _This_ was what life must truly be about, this feeling of laughter and joy, happiness and love that no victory or conquest could ever bring. 

_BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!_

Later, Bardock would swear that he must have jumped at least five feet in the air. He and Goten landed on the floor in a tangle of limbs and bedsheets, causing yet another bout of laughter. They quickly extricated themselves from the mess and headed for the door, Bardock in the lead. He thumbed the button by the door that opened it. It slid aside to reveal two large, muscle-bound Saiyans wearing the armor that only guards wore. The royal crest was imprinted on the right breastplate. That wiped the smile off Bardock's face and he eyed the two warily. 

Before he had a chance to speak, one of the guards brusquely announced, "Prince Vegeta commands that you present yourself to him at once." 

Bardock opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by the other man. "Come as you are. The Prince does not like to be kept waiting," he growled. 

This time, Bardock spoke quickly enough that he managed to say something before being interrupted again. "But... my son?" He gestured at Goten, who stood uncertainly behind him, confusion painted clearly on his face for all to see. He looked like Bardock felt. 

The first guard scowled and bared his teeth in a grimace. "Bring him, if you must, but we are leaving, _now_." 

One did not ignore the royal guards and expect to live a long life. Bardock hastily scooped Goten up in his arms so that he wouldn't be left behind. He had no clue what was going on, or why the Prince wanted to see _him_, but he couldn't leave Goten behind. For one thing, who knew what kind of mischief the chibi-Saiyan would get into while he was gone. For another thing, he had no clue how long he would be gone, or even if he would come back. It wasn't everyday one got called before the Prince of all Saiyans. One guard in front, the other behind, the odd group headed towards the palace. 

~*~ 

Said Prince of all Saiyans was pacing back and forth in the throne room, his tail lashing behind him angrily. _Where _are _they?! Just how long does it take to drag a lowly third-class Saiyan here?! _The child prince turned on a guard, his eyes flaming dangerously. He didn't know whether he was going to kill the man just for the hell of it, or if he was going to command the guard to go and find out what was taking so damn long. He never found out, because at that moment, the original two guards that Vegeta had sent stepped into the room, a young man who looked to be in his twenties or thirties between them, dressed in a sea-green shirt and black pants. The man was carrying a child of perhaps 7 or 8 years in age, wearing a matching sea-green gi, who had to be related to him somehow. No way in hell was that hair a coincidence. 

"Took your damn time, didn't you?" Vegeta snarled, facing them. The trio knelt, almost in unison, the two guards with practice and ease, the man somewhat awkwardly, considering he was still holding the boy. The prince stalked forward until he was only a foot from the man who had to be the third-class warrior Raisu had told him about. "You are Bardock? What a pathetic excuse for a Saiya-jin warrior! How in Kami's name did _you_ survive against Frieza?" Vegeta mocked scathingly. 

To his credit, Bardock didn't even flinch. Goten, however, drew his eyebrows together in a scowl and slid out of Bardock's grasp. He folded his arms and scowled at Vegeta, staring him directly in the face. A collective gasp echoed from the walls of the spacious throne room. No one looked Vegeta-ouji in the eyes. No one stood up to him. No one dared to _not_ bow. _No one.___

As if to prove that this wasn't the worst scandal that would happen that day, Goten opened his mouth and dared to speak without being spoken to. Hell, he spoke without even being introduced! "You take that back!" he demanded, clenching his fists angrily. He was fighting a losing battle with his ki, trying to keep it low as it fought to rise up in preparation for offense or defense. 

The silence that ensued was almost deafening. Anyone who looked at Vegeta would have noticed that the ten year old boy had a vein on his forehead that stood out against his otherwise perfect face, throbbing in time with his increasing heartbeat. A corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably as he debated whether to order someone to kill the upstart bastard son of a third-class warrior or kill the gaki himself. 

"Who are you?" the prince growled, his own fists clenched tight enough to draw blood from the palms of his hands. 

"I am G-Kakarot!" Goten shot back, mentally berating himself for nearly slipping up. "And I'm _his_ son!" He lifted his chin and pointed at Bardock, pride written on his face for all to see. 

Vegeta smirked. He leaned over a plucked a scouter from one of the guard's faces, settling it onto his ear and pressing a button. When the thing stopped making noise, the prince raised an eyebrow. "720. Impressive, for a third-class gaki," he sneered. "Tell me, Kakarot, son of Bardock, are you ready to meet your ancestors? I hope you are, because I'm about to send you to greet them!" He threw a lightning fast punch, too fast for the eye to follow, aimed directly between this bakayaro's eyes. With all of the power the prince could muster backing it up, it would be a killing blow. He was angry, damn it, had been angry for the past several hours, and this brat had just made himself a target for the Saiya-jin no Ouji's pent up frustration and wrath. 

With an ease and grace that almost seemed to mock the punch Vegeta had just thrown, Goten raised one hand and caught the punch before it landed. Vegeta was so surprised that he failed to even notice the rapidly increasing numbers on his scouter. As if to protest being ignored, the device suddenly exploded, unable to cope with the surging energy coming from the boy. Every single active scouter in the room simultaneously shattered, proving that this was no coincidence. 

"You really don't wanna get in a fight with me, Vegeta," Goten stated, his voice dangerously calm, like the calm before a storm. His aura was now visible to the naked eye, blazing blue, lighting everything in the room with a stark brightness that made the shadows look harsh in contrast. 

One of the guards _had_ been paying attention to the numbers on his scouter - until it had blown up in his face - and was now trembling like a leaf caught in a tornado. "His power," he whispered hoarsely. "Masaka! My scouter read 50,000 before it exploded!" _And it was still rising,_ he added silently. 

Bardock was still kneeling, watching in horror as the scene played itself out. When he'd taken Goten with him, he had been concerned for his grandson's safety. He hadn't even thought of the possibility that perhaps it wasn't Goten's safety he should have been worried about! _50,000 before the scouters overloaded?! Dear Kami, what _is_ he?_

Meanwhile, chibi Vegeta was still staring at his own hand, trapped in the grip of Goten's hand. Slowly, like an iron drawn to a magnet, the prince's gaze travelled up to meet Goten's coal black eyes. He suddenly felt the urge to run, to find the deepest, darkest hole and crawl into it. But no! He was the Saiya-jin no Ouji! He would not bolt like a coward! He might be only ten years old, but he was of royal blood and thus not supposed to be susceptible to fear. 

_You just keep telling yourself that, _a sarcastic voice in the prince's mind sneered. 

_Shut up!_ the prince snarled back silently. "You're the one who killed Frieza, aren't you." It was not a question. He didn't know how it was possible that a child could have so much power. He didn't know how this child could have possibly killed Frieza, even with a power level of over 50,000. But it had to be him! No one on the entire planet could have defeated the alien tyrant because no one had anywhere close to the power that Frieza possessed. Except, perhaps, _this gaki.___

The statement caught Goten off guard. He grinned sheepishly, placing one hand behind his head in embarrassment. "Well, actually, Frieza killed himself." Like water through a sieve, Goten's aura vanished as he powered down. He let go of Vegeta's hand. The chibi prince automatically took a step back, rubbing his fist with his other hand. 

"Huh?" He blinked. His blank face must have looked utterly confused. That was how he felt and, frankly, he didn't think he was doing a very successful job at hiding his emotions right now. 

Seeing this look, Goten clarified, "I only bounced his big ball back at him. Frieza killed himself 'cause it was his attack that killed him. See? I wasn't really meaning to kill him, I just kinda got scared and reacted out of instinct." 

_Nande kuso? Frieza was killed... by _accident?! 

Every person in the room openly stared at Goten, who just grinned back. 

~*~ 

_Somewhere in space, in another time...___

"Yippeee!! I'm here! I'm finally here!" Trunks did a little victory dance as he stared out the view port at the large, green planet that was rapidly becoming even bigger as the spaceship descended. "Bless you, mom, and grandpa, for improving the technology of this bucket of bolts! It only took a week to get here instead of one or two months! Look out, Namek, 'cause here I come!" 

~*~ 

Good Kami, running spell check on this takes forever! YES! Ignore all the uses of the word Saiyan! No! Vegeta is NOT a misspelling! Dang it, those are Japanese words, not mistakes! What do you _mean_, "scouter" isn't a word?!?!?! Aaaargh! 

Yes, yes, yes, I _know_ you were all hoping I'd have Goten go Super then and there. Well pbbbttt!!! *sticks out her tongue* Cut me some slack! I wanna have _some_ surprises left for other chapters. 

RB-Chan- Last chapter was _not_ too short. There is no such thing as "too short." *grins* Chapters are neither too long nor too short, but exactly the length their supposed to be. And please cut down on the exclamation points. *wry smile* 

Peter Kim- Thanks for a great review! To answer your questions/comments... Bardock is not wrong. Just misinformed. He just doesn't know about the ability to suppress ki. I'm _not_ claiming that Earthlings are the only ones with this ability. The Ginyu Force and King Cold will probably make an appearance, but _not until I decide whether or not to blow up Vegeta-sei_. I'm still waiting for reviewer response there (so far, I've gotten one review saying "Don't" and I pestered my little sister into giving me her opinion, which was "Blow it all up!" or words to that effect). Trunks didn't ask Goku to take him to Namek because he was afraid Goku wouldn't let him come. After trying to go to Hell with Goku and being told he couldn't, can you blame the kid? And, yes, Goten is in an alternate universe. 

kamislash- Don't worry, Nappa will die. *evil cackle* Just have to decide _how_ to kill the bastard. Radditz shall be spared my wrath, mainly because a certain Dragoness Eclectic (wonderful author!!) has shown me with her fics that Radditz isn't necessarily all bad. I'm still debating whether to bring him to the Future or if I should write another story all about Radditz in this alternate past. Any readers out there have an opinion on this subject??? 

Please review! 

**Questions for reviewers to address:**   
-Should I or should I not blow up Vegeta-sei?   
-How should I kill Nappa?   
-Anyone know Radditz's relative age at this point or where exactly he is?   
-Should I bring Radditz to the Future or keep him in the Past?   
-Anyone read any good Bardock fics? If so, please tell me!   
-Regular praise/constructive criticism/suggestions/flames/etc. welcome! 


	9. Wishful Thinking

Good Kami, 100 reviews! And my story hasn't even been up for a whole week! Granted, I've posted more chapters in that one week than some authors write in a month... but still. ^_^ It just fills me with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside to know you all like my story this much! (Congratulations, Baka-sama, you're my 100th reviewer! Along with the privilege of getting to read my story you get.... a year's supply of cyber-ice cream! Thanks for the info about Radditz and a possible Bardock fic. ^_^ As for romance... that probably won't occur in this story, sorry! Wait, wait! No! Not the tomatoes! ACK! *ducks a tomato* Look, when I said "this story," I meant _this_ story! There will be a sequel and, yes, I _do_ plan on having some romance for Bardock. ^_^) 

Tony Montana, thank you for such an informative review!! I knew that I needed stats like that but was too lazy to look 'em up myself. Thank you thank you thank you. ^_^ And thank you, all my reviewers who answered the questions posed at the end of the last chapter. Here are the results: 

Vegeta-sei doesn't get blown up, unless I change my mind at the last minute (sigh... and I sooo wanted to blow it up. ^_^). Nappa dies *crowds cheer* (that was already decided, hehe) but you'll have to wait until I actually write the chapter he dies in before you get to find out how he dies. Radditz, in this story, will end up being 15 years old. My reason for this is... *reaches hand into her Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM)* because Barney was a purple dinosaur... _What the Hell?!_ What kind of excuse is that?! *hastily stuffs Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM) under her desk* *coughs* My reason is because I want him to be older than all the other chibis, but he can't be too old, because Bardock is still a young man (guessing he's really closer to 33 than 25) and I want him to be teenage (not telling why!). And it looks like I'll probably bring Radditz to the Future. Can't promise that, though, because it all depends on where the story ends up when I finish it. 

**A few notes from the author about this fiction:** I have never written a violence oriented fic before. I spend more time on _doing_ things and _going_ places and developing my characters than I do on fight scenes. I have never written a hand to hand combat scene. Until now, all fighting I've written about has been with weapons such as swords, knives, bows and arrows... you get my point. Fight scenes are not my specialty, though I'm sure I can write a good one if I spend time on it. Lots of time. I also do not write pointless fight scenes. My characters will not go out and pick fights. The only fights that will be present are the ones I deem necessary to the story. To sum up what I'm saying: For a DBZ fan fic, this story is going to lack somewhat in the violence department. You want violence? Read Chelsee's "Contradicting Mission." Great story. Lots of violence. 

The other thing to note about this story is that this story is a prequel! It is not the main story, though that doesn't mean I'm going to skimp on it. Since the main story could not be written without Bardock, I am writing this story to explain how Bardock ends up where he needs to be for the next fic. (Trying reeeaally hard not to spoil the story, though it's probably a lost cause already.) 

Last thing! Then I'll let you get on with the story, I promise! Chapter length is the result of two things. I usually have a certain set of events that I plan on happening in a given chapter. Once all those events have occurred, the chapter is done, regardless of length (though I may add a few extra events). The other major factor is _time_. It takes _time_ to write a good chapter. I'm sure you've all noticed that I've been putting out chapters really rapidly (one a day, minimum, and even had one day where I posted two chapters). If you want me to write longer chapters, then you're going to end up waiting longer for each chapter. My other stories I've written had chapters easily two or three times as long as the chapters I write for "Wish For The Past", _but I would only post once a week_. I'm fairly sure I can guess which option you all prefer. *smiles wryly* So you can keep wishing that I'd write longer chapters, but keep in mind the benefits you're getting from not-so-long chapters. And if you still feel gypped, compare my chapter length to most other stories out there on ff.net. Some people only write one page chapters. Many people double and triple space between paragraphs. Many also concentrate on dialogue, rather than description, so they have fewer words per line. Their chapters may end up _appearing_ to be longer, but in reality that isn't true. 

*draws a huge breath* And now that I'm done talking your ears off... let's get on with what you're **_really_ **here for! 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, Trunks, or Gohan. But I just got back from shopping at my favorite anime store and I got a wall hanging with teen Gohan on it! ALL RIGHT! Too bad they didn't have any starring _just_ Gohan. But I'll settle for what I got. ^_^ 

Gohan: Woo hoo! Brenda has a wall hanging with me on it! Haha! We're even now, Trunks!   
Trunks: Hmph! But at least her wall hanging of me only has _me_ on it! You have to share your wall space with Goku, Goten, Gotenks, _and_ the Eternal Dragon!   
Gohan: *glares* So? You heard her! If they'd been selling wall hangings with only me on them, she would have gotten one of those instead!   
Brenda: Guys! Guys! Enough! The readers don't wanna hear you two bickering, they wanna read my story! While they're doing that, why don't we all go hang out at my house? *grins and promptly drags the two demi-saiyans off* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Wishful Thinking) 

For what seemed like an eternity, Trunks waited by the hatch until he felt the ship settle onto the ground. It was all he could do to restrain himself from tearing the door off its hinges. He didn't know if he'd need the space ship intact or not, so it was better to be safe than sorry. At last, the movement of the ship ceased and the little green light next to the door blinked on, indicating it was safe to open the hatch now. Trunks hit the button next to the door to open it, dashing out before it had even completely slid to the side. Dragon radar in one hand and a pack of supplies on his back, the purple haired demi-saiyan burst into flight. A white aura surrounded him, humming in his ears, as he clicked the button on the radar to locate the first dragonball. 

_What luck!_ Trunks mentally cheered as the radar blipped the dragonball's location. _There's a dragonball only a short distance away! _Trunks dove down and started searching through a clump of bushes or scrubby trees until he came up with the beach ball sized dragonball. The orange-red sphere was nearly as large as Trunks's head and had two little red stars floating within. As he picked the ball up, the chibi realized he'd come across his first dilemma. 

"How am I going to carry all the dragonballs?" he thought out loud. One dragonball was fine, but seven? This would require some thought, so Trunks sat down cross-legged, next to the two star dragonball, his brow furrowed in concentration. The tip of his tail twitched back and forth rhythmically in time to the pace of his mind. _I could just bring each dragonball back to my ship when I find it,_ he mused silently. _But I'd really rather not leave them unattended, or grouped together like that, in case someone else finds them. Maybe I could rig some kind of net to carry them in...? No, that's no good. I don't have anything that would work as a net big enough for seven of these balls._

Trunks's train of thought was interrupted as his stomach informed him that thinking on an empty stomach was generally not a good idea, nor was it very conducive to coming up with solutions to one's problems. _Well, starving never did anyone any good, so I might as well have some breakfast!_ He pulled out one of the capsules that he'd packed with food, depressed the button on the top, and gently tossed it away. 

_BOM!_

In a puff of smoke, a huge mountain of food appeared, which the boy attacked eagerly, ready to greatly diminish its size. Boy, was he glad he'd remembered that huge feast that had been left sitting out in the middle of nowhere! And here he'd thought Goten had wasted a wish. Trunks had put the food to good use, encapsulating all of it before it spoiled. It made good addition to the rest of the food he'd managed to pilfer from his mom's pantry, which was quite a lot. 

Trunks was about half-way through the mountain of food when something dawned on him. Carrying the dragonballs would be easy! All he had to do was use one of his empty capsules and encasuplate the dragonballs until he needed them. No worries about stashing them someplace or nets or anything! 

_See?_ his stomach seemed to say. _I knew that you'd find a solution once you got a full belly!_

The demi-saiyan felt no need to argue the point. He finished eating his meal, putting the leftovers back into the capsule they came out of, and then encapsulated the dragonball he'd just found. Now to find the rest of the dragonballs! 

~*~ 

Only one more ball to go, and then he could make his wish! There really hadn't been much in the way of challenges during the journey. The worst that he'd had to go through was coming a little closer to a volcano than he normally preferred. Trunks guessed it was because Namek was sparsely populated and its inhabitants were peaceful farmers for the most part. It was nearly night time (according to Earth's system of keeping time) of his second day on Namek. With his speed, travelling to each dragonball took very little time. He'd only stopped for food and sleep, as needed. There was no real way to tell time here, since Namek had no night. 

Slowing as he approached his destination, the location of the final dragonball, Trunks noted with interest that it appeared to be within one of the settlements the Nameks had built. He checked the radar as he descended towards the buildings. The dragonball would probably be... there, in that large hut. The demi-saiyan landed lightly, ignoring the green beings who stopped what they were doing as they caught sight of him. He made a beeline to the building that he guessed housed the final dragonball. 

Two of the Nameks, well built and dressed in loose clothing, stood in front of the only entrance into the structure, obviously guarding whatever or whoever was within. Trunks decided he should probably be polite, so he stopped in front of them. The two looked down at the pint-sized purple haired boy with amusement. 

"What is your name, kid?" one of them asked curiously. 

"I'm Trunks Briefs," the Saiyan answered proudly, drawing himself up to his full height, which only brought him up to a little bit above the Namek's waistline. He should probably explain what he was doing here, or he might not be let inside this building. The boy really didn't want to have to hurt anyone. He only wanted to get the final dragonball so he could rejoin his friend. "I'm looking for a dragonball with seven stars in it." 

Surprise flickered across the visages of both Nameks and something unspoken passed between them. "Wait here," the first one said, disappearing through the doorway of the hut. 

Trunks shrugged and stood patiently. While he wanted to get the last dragonball as soon as possible and make his wish, he knew better than to rush things that shouldn't be rushed. He knew from his experience with Piccolo that Nameks could be tough opponents and he had no real desire to find out how good these Nameks were. The only thing on his mind right now was making that wish. 

As it turned out, it only took a few minutes for the first Namek reappeared, a solemn look on his face. "The Elder will see you, Trunks Briefs." 

That was a surprise. He didn't know exactly what he'd expected, but Trunks hadn't realized that he had managed to bring himself to the doorstep of the Elder of the Nameks. Suddenly finding himself more than a little nervous, the half-breed followed his Namek escort inside the darkened building. The 6 foot plus green man strode down a short hall, then paused outside the entrance to another room. "The Elder is within." Trunks nodded his thanks and walked into the room hesitantly. 

The first thing to catch his attention was the old and _large_ Namek within. No offense, but he was _huge_! Beyond his sheer size, his presence alone seemed to fill the room completely, barely leaving room for the boy to breath, or so it seemed. Fortunately, the aura that the Elder projected was a calming one, filled with wisdom gained through years of life. To one side, a younger Namek child about Trunks's own height stood in attendance. 

"I'm told you are searching for the seven star dragonball," the Elder's voice, kind and wise, seemed to be absorbed by the walls of the room. "May I ask why?" 

_Cuts to the point, doesn't he? _"My friend, Son Goten - he's Goku's son - used the Earth's dragonballs to wish to meet his grandpa. I don't think he was careful enough in how he said his wish, though, because instead of bringing his grandpa to Earth, the Eternal Dragon took Goten to his grandpa. Goku looked for Goten in the Afterlife, but he wasn't there, either. I think he's been sent to the past, before his grandpa died. The Earth dragonballs won't be able to grant a wish for another year, so I came here, to Namek. I need the dragonballs so that I can find Goten." Trunks paused in his explanation. He looked up at the Elder hopefully. "Do you have the last dragonball, sir?" 

The Namek seemed to pause and consider his answer for a moment. "Yes, I do. Every time a wish is made upon the dragonballs, a search is made to bring one of the dragonballs to the current Elder. Thus at all times the wishes the Eternal Dragon may grant are guarded. Only by gaining the dragonball the Elder possesses can a wish be made." 

Excitement flooded through Trunks's veins and his eyes lit up. "Please, sir, may I have the dragonball? I only need one wish, so that'll leave two for your people to use. Please?" The chibi could only hope that he didn't sound too pathetic. It was a good think his father, Vegeta, wasn't here now. He could only imagine what his father would have to say about begging for _anything_ from the Nameks. 

Silence fell as the Elder considered once again. He eyed the Saiyan boy thoughtfully, then smiled. "Sanail, would you please go get the dragonball for our young guest?" The young Namek at the Elder's side, Sanail, nodded and left the room for a few moments, returning with the seventh and final dragonball in his arms. Sanail handed the sphere to Trunks. Trunks heart leapt into his throat. This was it. Now he could make his wish and find his friend, Goten. He hoped Goten hadn't gotten into too much trouble, wherever or whenever he was. 

~*~ 

Bardock was wondering if things could possibly get worse. A moment's reflection brought him to the conclusion that, yes, things _could_ get worse. At least Goten hadn't accidentally slipped up and revealed that he was from the future. Bad enough that he'd just shown that he outstripped every Saiya-jin on the planet, power-wise. There was no need to let everyone know that he wasn't even really supposed to exist yet, or that none of them were supposed to exist at all (barring Vegeta, of course). 

They were currently in the middle of a standoff. Vegeta refused to back down, despite being outmatched by the little demi-saiyan, because of his pride. The guards were hovering around them all nervously and wouldn't act unless given orders. Bardock was no longer kneeling. Sometime during the exchange, protocol had flown out the window, so the 30 some odd year old Saiyan saw no real need to remain in the uncomfortable position. It certainly wasn't the worst scandal that had occurred that day. Might not even be the last. 

No one knew what they were waiting for. A wary silence had ensued after Goten's astonishing announcement that Frieza had been killed by accident. It was almost as if the world was waiting for some signal before it would start functioning again. 

~*~ 

Trunks took a deep breath. Before him were the seven dragonballs of Namek, glowing faintly in the sun's light. Behind him a group of Nameks had gathered, no doubt to witness the summoning of the Eternal Dragon (Porunga, not Shenlong). The demi-saiyan's heartbeat was unsteady as he looked over at Sanail, the acting translator. "I'm ready," he said, proud that his voice remained steady. 

Nodding, Sanail turned to the dragonballs and said something incomprehensible in the language of the Nameks. In response to his words, the sky darkened to pitch black and a large muscular dragon emerged from the center of the dragonballs. The Dragon spoke in the same tongue Sanail had used, his voice rumbling and echoing. Sanail looked at Trunks. "What is your wish?" he asked simply. 

Taking another steadying breath, Trunks replied, "I wish to be where my friend, Son Goten, is, and I mean the Son Goten of _this_ time in whatever time or place his is... er.. now." It was hard to be accurate with a wish that might very well span more than one timeline or reality or whatever. It was important, though, to end up where _his_ friend, Goten, was. The chibi-Saiyan looked at the chibi Namek to make sure he understood. Surprisingly, Sanail nodded in utter comprehension. He turned back to Porunga and spoke a long string of Namekian sentences. The dragon's eyes flashed and he uttered one phrase. 

Trunks's vision swam as everything around him changed. 

~*~ 

The throne room was suddenly filled with a bright light and everyone present cried out and covered their eyes to keep from being blinded. When it dissipated, everyone blinked in an attempt to clear the afterimages away. There was something odd, though. Sometime during the flash of light, someone else had somehow entered the room. A boy. A very odd-looking boy with _purple_ hair. 

"Goten!!!" A child's voice shouted, filled with sheer joy. 

"Trunks!!!" Goten shouted back, the grin on his face spreading to half the size of his head. 

_Oh Kami, no!_ Bardock gripped his head in his hands and groaned. _No, no, not Trunks, please let it be someone who only _looks_ like Trunks. Wait. He knew who Goten was. Damn it, it _is_ Trunks. Kami, why now? Things were already messed up enough as it is, they really don't need any help from another demi-saiyan from the future._ Again, the Saiyan felt the strong urge to find a bar and drink himself silly. He could tell that another headache was looming over the horizon. 

Unaware of the stares they were receiving, the two little time-travelers rushed forward with glee and did a strange victory dance of some sort, laughing the whole time. 

"Trunks, how did you get here?!" Goten exclaimed, still grinning the famous Son Grin (TM). 

"I went to Namek and used their dragonballs. I thought you were in Hell, Goten! Your dad went to Hell to look for you 'cause your mom was worried and I wanted to go too but my mom wouldn't let me. And I thought that they wouldn't let me go to Namek when I realized that you had to be here instead of in Hell, so I went to Namek without telling anyone and I found the dragonballs and I used them to get here." Trunks was practically babbling in his attempt to tell everything that had happened to him as quickly as possible. "And what about you? What have you been doing? How long has it been for you? Did ya find your grandpa? What-" 

"What the Hell is going on here?!" Chibi Vegeta roared, shutting both Trunks and Goten up. 

"Cool!" Trunks's eyes were wide and a smile crossed his face. Not the happy-to-see-you smile he'd been wearing a moment ago. No, this one was much different. This one looked a _lot_ like the smirk his father tended to wear. "Vegeta's here!" 

~*~ 

Aaaaah!!! Cliff hanger! I'm soooo evil! Mwahaha! Sorry if the chapter seems a little short. I was having writer's block (minor case) and I didn't get to spend the afternoon working on it, since I was shopping for my Gohan wall hanging. *blissful expression* Oh, Gohan, I finally have something of you! 

Two chapters in one day! Wow! That's twice in one week that I've done that. Lucky lucky readers. ^_^ 

Ahem... a few last things. Lasaire, good review, good points, but I don't know if I will ever even touch this alternate past unless I leave Radditz behind. I _may_ do a B/V, but that's really secondary. My goal in writing this story is to pave the way for my next Bardock story. Don't get me wrong, I like Vegeta and all, but I like Bardock better. ^_^ And there's a _much_ higher demand for Bardock stories. I'll keep the B/V for this alternate timeline in mind, though, in case I feel like a change. As for Bardock coming and raising Goku in this alternate time... that's not an option. Can't say why. You'll have to wait and find out for yourself. ^_^ 

**_Bardock Story Advertising!_**

Every once in a while, when I find a Bardock story worthy of being advertised, I'll put a note at the end of a chapter. One that several people have mentioned and that I took the time to read for myself is "The Lone and Level Sands" by Logan, storyid = 442153. Extremely good story! 50 years post GT, Bardock goes in search of his missing son, Goku/Kakarot, in the Afterlife. Author hasn't updated in a while, so go read it and review and maybe he'll write another chapter. 


	10. Spilled Beans Almost

*rubs forehead* I'm going to be sooo dead today. I stayed up late last night in order to finish Chapter 9 and now I have insomnia. It's 5 am here as I start to write this and I can't sleep. Might as well get something useful done, so I'm writing yet another chapter! It's a good thing I'm not going to visit my friend Kat like I usually do on Saturdays. I don't think I'm going to be good for much else today besides vegetating on the couch watching brainless cartoons. 

Oh and someone failed to note my author note at the beginning of this story. I _know_ Trunks and Goten don't have tails. I gave them tails for this story because I felt like it and because I'm a lazy author and didn't want to have to prove to each and every Saiyan on Vegeta-sei that, yes, Trunks and Goten have Saiyan blood in their veins. Sue me. 

Daniel, whether or not every dragonball was guarded by an Elder in the original DBZ story, that's not the case with this one. *reaches hand into Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM)* It's an AU, after all. (_Yes, thank goodness I didn't get another Barney excuse!!!_) And I didn't want to spend the entire chapter describing how Trunks went from Elder to Elder asking for dragonballs. Boooring. 

Disclaimer: Trunks? Gohan? Help me out here. I'm too tired and can't think of what I'm supposed to say!   
Trunks: Sure thing! Okay, everyone, listen up. The beautiful miss Brenda doesn't own DBZ.   
Gohan: Nor does she own either of us. We just think she's really cute and like to help her out.   
Brenda: *smiles* Thanks, guys. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Spilled Beans - Almost) 

Technically, Bardock was the most powerful adult in the room at the time. No one knew this but Bardock, of course, but somehow it still seemed to impress upon Bardock a feeling of being responsible for this whole mess. And with responsibility comes duty. It was his duty to put a stop to this before things got ugly. 

"_Kakarot_," he emphasized the name Goten had been using, "Trunks, I think maybe we should save the reunion for another time." Damn it, he really wanted to just grab the two boys and run. "We are, after all, in the presence of the _prince._" _That's it. Mollify the prince's pride and maybe he won't try to order anyone's death._ If Goten was correct, Trunks was at least as powerful as his friend, if not more so. _Kami, just what we need. _Two_ super powerful demi-saiyans._

"Hey, Goten, he looks like your dad! And why did he call you Kakarot? That's what- OW! What'd ya do that for?!" 

Goten elbowed Trunks in the side again. "That _is_ my dad, Trunks, and Kakarot is my _Saiyan_ name, _remember_?" He scowled and tried to get the message across to his best friend. _Come _on_, Trunks, you're gonna blow my story!_ Goten silently pleaded with the other boy. 

"Oooh! Right! Kakarot! I remember now!" Trunks plastered a fake grin on his face, hoping to cover his confusion. Goten had to have a reason for wanting him to play along. The boys had gotten into trouble together, and separately, often enough to know when the other needed to lie for him. "Heh heh. Yep! My friend, Kakarot!" 

Glaring suspiciously at the two boys, Vegeta folded his arms across his chest and scowled. Something about this kid bothered the prince. He looked familiar, somehow. "Would someone care to explain what's going on?" he growled. Both Goten and Trunks had to stifle a set of giggles. Hearing chibi Vegeta growl was funny! He couldn't growl _nearly_ so well as his Mirai counterpart did. Fortunately for everyone concerned, they managed to hide their amusement from Vegeta. 

Trunks looked at Goten, who looked at Bardock, who was looking at the both of them. Goten gulped, remembering all the things Trunks had just been saying. Dragonballs, Hell, Namek. How did he explain all that without telling anyone about the abilities of the dragonballs, or revealing that he and Trunks were from the future? Trunks didn't have a clue what to say because he didn't know what all was going on. Goten didn't know what to say because he didn't think he was smart enough to come up with a plausible set of lies. The two chibis exchanged another look and nodded. When in doubt... 

"Run away!!!" they yelled in unison. Simultaneously, both Trunks and Goten blasted off and out the door of the throne room. Goten paused to grab hold of Bardock's arm and proceeded to fly after his friend at top speed. Bardock was literally swept off his feet and trailing in the air behind Goten, his mind struggling to catch up to what had just happened. The speeds at which they were travelling were almost too much for Bardock to physically handle, and it felt like his arm would be pulled out of its socket. 

Within a few minutes, the trio was outside the city and in the middle of a forest. The boys slowed down and landed in a small clearing, automatically suppressing their ki. Years of experience had made it almost an instinct to hide their ki after making an escape. One never knew if one would be pursued, after all. Bardock collapsed to the forest floor, his heart racing wildly. The two friends fell to the ground, giggling madly. 

"Hee hee, did you see the way my dad's eye twitched like that?" 

_Oh shit... I forgot. Trunks is Vegeta's son in the future._ Bardock groaned and closed his eyes. 

"Ha ha! I did! He looked just like the older Vegeta!" 

"Except my dad's a lot scarier when he does that 'cause he's a lot more powerful." 

"Yeah, hee hee." 

"Hey, Goten... er.. Kakarot," Trunks lifted his head to look at his friend. "If we were stronger than everyone else there, why did we run?" 

"Because we didn't want them to find out we're from the future! And we shouldn't tell them 'bout the dragonballs!" Goten rolled his eyes like this was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"Why didn't you just lie?" 

"I'm no good at lying, you _know_ that, Trunks! And besides, you already told them about the dragonballs so we couldn't just not talk about 'em." 

"If you'd just waited a minute," Bardock muttered from where he lay, "I might have been able to come up with something. Why the hell did you two decide to run? Now we'll all be hunted down and everyone will be trying to kill us. I don't care how powerful you boys are, I really would rather not be forced to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder." 

"Er... sorry, um... sir," Trunks apologized, looking at his feet. 

"Bardock. I'm Goten's grandfather." The older Saiya-jin sat up and opened his eyes, taking in all the details of the newest addition to party. Besides the limp purple hair, he really did look like the young prince Vegeta. 

"It's just that we always run when we get in trouble," Goten explained, grinning sheepishly. "Things usually get better after everyone's had a chance to forget about it." 

"Except this time I don't think anyone will be 'forgetting about it' anytime soon," Bardock sighed. "You two really landed us in a load of trouble. Oh well, what's done is done, and all we can do about it now is try to figure a way to stay alive without killing everyone on the planet." Leaning against a tree, the warrior glanced at Trunks again, curiously. "In the mean time, why don't you tell us your story, Trunks? What did you mean when you said you thought Goten was in Hell? And how does someone look for someone else in Hell?" 

Trunks took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Well, y'see, after Goten made his wish he just... disappeared. So I thought..." The conversation went on for long time as both boys took turns explaining what had happened to them since Goten had made his misinterpreted wish. 

~*~ 

Despite the lack of visible expression on his face, just by looking at the massive Aisu-jin one could tell that he was furious. Standing up, he stepped over the bloody remains of the unfortunate messenger. He walked over to the large window that looked out into space. In his hand, the ever-present glass goblet half filled with dark red wine shattered into thousands of sparkling shards, glass and wine dripping down his clenched fist. King Cold ignored the mess. 

"So someone thinks they can kill my son and get away with it?" he spoke softly. He didn't really care for his son that much, but this was a matter of pride here. A blow to the Cold family was a blow against Cold himself and therefore must not go unpunished. "Set a course for Vegeta-sei," he said, still speaking in a voice barely loud enough to be heard over the regular hum of the ship. "Those wretched monkeys probably got lucky when they managed to kill my son. They're probably sitting on the mudball of a planet they call home, laughing about their supposed victory. Well, we'll see who laughs last, now won't we?" A cruel smile graced the features of the father of the late-Frieza. 

~*~ 

Goten's stomach growled loudly. "Dad, I'm hungry," he complained, still in the habit of calling Bardock 'dad'. "We didn't get to eat lunch 'cause Vegeta made us go to the palace and I'm _starving_!" As if on cue, the other two Saiyan stomachs present also added their voices to the argument that it was indeed time to eat. 

"Well, we can't very well go back to my apartment," Bardock mused. "They'll probably have the place watched. Guess we'll just have to find food the old fashioned way!" 

"No we don't," Trunks smirked. "Goten, remember that other wish you made? The one for lots of food for us to eat when you thought you grandpa would be brought to Earth?" Goten nodded. "Well, I packed all that food in some capsules! I have them with me, in my pocket." 

"You do?!" the black haired chibi brightened visibly. He was literally dancing with glee as Trunks pulled out a capsule case and opened it. He pulled out one of the capsules within and held it up for inspection, grinning. 

"Yep! It's right here! I made sure to pack lots of food 'cause you never know when you'll get hungry and there won't be any food around." 

Bardock looked at the small, finger sized container. "It's a little small, isn't it?" he asked, skeptical. 

"These are Hoi Poi Capsules," Trunks explained. "My mom and grandpa make them. Here, watch!" He pressed the button on the top of the capsule and gently tossed it onto the ground not far from them. When the smoke cleared, Bardock thought his jaw was going to drop off. _How the hell did all that fit into that tiny little thing?!_

"See?" the nine year old asked smugly. "Hoi Poi Capsules can carry just about anything. For instance, this one's a capsule house, and this one's another space ship - the one I used to get to Namek couldn't be capsulized, so I left it there - and this one here is a car... I packed lots of things, in case I would need them." Trunks held out one of the containers. Bardock looked at it with extreme interest. 

"Ingenious," he murmured, holding it between his thumb and forefinger. He reluctantly handed it back to Trunks. He'd have to take a closer look later. Right now, though... 

Goten had already started making a dent in the pile of food. Trunks and Bardock sat down and attacked the food with a will. It hadn't been as long for Trunks since he'd eaten, but he was Saiyan. He could _always_ eat more! With three hungry Saiya-jin working away at it, it didn't take long for the food to disappear. The three leaned back against a tree, a child on either side of Bardock, and let out contented sighs. 

"You said you had a capsule with a space ship in it, Trunks?" Bardock asked, his mind in thought. "Would it be big enough for the three of us?" 

"Oh, yeah," the purple topped kid nodded. "I would've use it instead of the other ship, but the other one was bigger and I was going to be on it for a whole week. I wanted to have as much room as possible. I hope my mom doesn't get mad that I left it on Namek." 

Pausing to consider this, the warrior closed his eyes. "Well, we're wanted criminals all over the planet now, and we need to get you two back to where you belong, so why don't we use your ship to take us to Earth or Namek. We could gather the dragonballs and use the wish to send you back to the future." 

"But I left my radar back at your home, grandpa!" Goten suddenly worried. "We can't find the dragonballs without the Dragon radar." 

"It's okay, Goten," Trunks grinned. "I have mom's spare radar with me. How do you think I found the dragonballs on Namek?" 

"You'd better not lose that one, Trunks, or your mom will be reeaally mad!" 

"Yeah, right, like I'd lose the radar. It's the only way we can get home. Do you really think I'd do what you did and just _leave_ it somewhere?" 

A flush of embarrassment spread across Goten's cheeks. "It wasn't my fault! I left all my things there when the guards took us to the palace!" 

"Hey, there's no need to argue about it," Bardock said, ruffling the hair on both boys' heads. "Why don't we get a good night's sleep and worry about getting off the planet in the morning? I know this forest fairly well, and I know there's a cave nearby that we can sleep in without worrying about being found." 

_I hope there are enough stray animals and Saiyans running around out in the wilderness so that scouters won't be able to pinpoint us. These two might be able to hide their ki, but I can't.... wait a second....___

"Goten, Trunks, do you two think you might be able to teach me how to hide my ki?" 

~*~ 

Before you all complain that I should have extended the confrontation with Vegeta more, lemme just warn you that I'm not through with Vegeta yet. *grins* You'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm so mean. ^_^ 

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned to find out what happens to Bardock and the kids! Please review! 

**_Bardock Story Advertising!_**

Actually, this author is more of a Radditz fan, but she has some Bardock in there, too. ^_^ Dragoness Eclectic is one of my personal favorite authors. She's written many stories, some multi-parts, some one-shots, but all of them good. I really recommend them. 


	11. Deadly Delays

It's hard to find time to just sit down and type here at my friend's house. It's taking me longer to type this chapter than any other because I'm constantly being interrupted. *sigh* One other tiny little problem slows me down: Ick ick ick! My friend has no composer! I have to type all the HTML by hand in a word document! I haven't had to do that in years! (And I'm rusty.) So if the page looks a little odd, you know why. *sigh* When I get back home I'll change anything that's messed up. 

Disclaimer: Yes! It's all mine! I own _everything_!!! MWAHAHA!!! *insane laughter* 

Trunks: *sweatdrops* Ooookay... this is news to _me_... 

Gohan: *looks at Trunks and nods* I think Brenda's been under a little too much pressure lately. There, there, Brenda, everything's gonna be okay. Now why don't you come with us to see the nice doctor? 

Trunks: *looks at the readers* Er... disregard what she said. She really doesn't own everything, which includes DBZ. *leads Brenda off to a padded white room* 

A/N: Sereri is Bardock's wife. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Deadly Delays) 

For about thirty seconds, everyone stared at the door the two boys and the third-class Saiya-jin had vanished through. Once it sunk into their brains what had just happened, the guards all looked to their young prince. 

"Well what are you morons all standing around staring for?!" Prince Vegeta roared. "Go _after_ them! Bring them back to me _alive_" It had momentarily slipped the prince's mind that the guards probably couldn't do anything even if they managed to find the three fugitives. _They have humiliated me, the royal heir to the throne, and refused to answer my questions. I will break every bone in their bodies and flay their skin from them! They shall die screaming out the secrets they sought to hide from me! I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji and I will have my revenge!_ The chibi snarled wordlessly and threw a small ki blast at the floor near the guards' feet as they all hurried from the room, eager to obey their prince... and escape with their lives. 

~*~ 

Bardock relaxed his muscles as completely as he could, letting tension run off him like water. He was surprised to note that he was actually a lot more tense than he'd thought he was. Maybe it was the stress of being in hiding, or perhaps it was a gradual build up from living the life of a warrior, always prepared to attack or defend himself. It was kind of nice to be able to let himself loosen up a bit. Of course, even in this he had a purpose. 

He opened one eye and looked at Trunks and Goten. "Is it working?" he asked. 

Trunks shook his head. "Keep working on it. I can still sense you, although you're not as noticeable as before." 

"You gotta relax," Goten added. "Let all your energy go. Think of it as pushing it out of your body and spreading it around as far as possible." 

Frowning, Bardock tried to do as the boys suggested. He imagined himself as a bowl of water with a hole in it, allowing the water, or his ki, to drain out of him. A sudden feeling of something akin to nausea came over him and he felt almost _weak_. Needless to say, it took him by surprise. 

"That's it! You're doing it!" Trunks crowed triumphantly. He and Goten laughed and did a victory dance, grinning like idiots. 

"Does it always feel like this?" Bardock grimaced. He didn't like this feeling at all. 

"Yeah, but you get used to it," Goten confirmed. "It gets easier each time you do it. Trunks and me like to play hide and seek lots so we hardly have to think to do it now." 

"Not that Goten thinks that much, anyway," Trunks joked. 

"Hee hee, I like to let Trunks do the thinking. Which gets him in more trouble than me, usually, 'cause everyone knows he's the brains. They usually think it was his idea." The black haired chibi-Saiyan grinned and rubbed his head. 

Bardock's mouth quirked upwards. After being around warriors and battles for most of his life, it was rather refreshing to spend time with these two mischievous innocents. He suddenly wondered what life on Earth must be like, to produce children such as these. Idly, he wondered how he would have turned out if he had been born there, rather than on Vegeta-sei. The smile faded from his face, replaced by a somber look. If he'd been born on Chikyuu, rather than Vegeta-sei, then he would never have known the hardships of being a soldier, wiping out planet after planet. He would never have known Toma, Celipa, Totepo, or Panboukin. He would never have known Sereri. He would never have felt the pain of losing his friends and wife. 

But he would also never have known the joy of having known them. Somehow, it evened out, and Bardock was just as glad that he _had_ been born on Vegeta-sei, and that he was who he was. 

The older Saiya-jin blinked as he suddenly became aware that Goten was sitting in his lap and had his nose inches away from Bardock's. Bardock blinked again. "Huh?" 

"What're you thinking about?" Goten asked curiously. 

Bardock smiled sadly. "About the past," he replied. "Things I've done that I wish I hadn't, things I wish I _had_ done, friends and family I'll never see again...." _Sereri is dead. Kakarot is on Earth and Radditz is missing. My family seems to be disappearing one by one. All I have now is Goten, and soon I won't even have him. He and his friend, Trunks, will return to their time, and I will be alone again...._ He shook his head as though to clear it of the images that haunted him. He smiled and tapped his grandson's nose with a finger. "But that's in the past, now. Right now we need to concentrate on surviving long enough to get off this planet. Right?" 

"Hai!" Goten rubbed his nose and laughed. 

"Bardock-san, my tousan once told me that when he came to Earth he couldn't sense ki. Can _you_ sense ki?" Trunks asked. The earlier mention of hide and seek had triggered a realization that it took two skills to play it the way he and Goten played. One was the ability to hide your ki. They'd just finished teaching that to Goten's grandfather, though it would take some practice before he was any good at it. The perfect way for him to practice would be to play hide and seek with him and Goten. But that would also require the second skill. The ability to sense ki. 

"Nani?" Bardock scratched his head in confusion, looking for all the world like every Son looked when they didn't get something. 

_That gesture has _got_ to be hereditary,_ Trunks concluded, a sweatdrop forming on the back of his head. "Guess I gotta teach you how to do that, too." He sighed. "Okay, here goes. Y'know how you pushed your ki out of your body? Well, sensing ki is kinda like that. Spread out your ki _outside_ your body so that it touches everything around you. Try to spread it out as far as possible, but don't push _all_ of your ki out. You really only need a little bit. Closing your eyes helps you concentrate 'cause you don't get confused by what your eyes see. Sometimes your eyes can play tricks on you, but your ki sense rarely lies." The purple topped Saiyan boy was wracking his brain, trying to remember these lessons from so long ago when his dad had been trying to teach him this same thing. "Every living thing has ki, no matter how small, that can be felt if your ki touches theirs, like reaching out your hand in the dark and touching someone else. You can't see it, but it's there. Now close your eyes and try to find me with your ki senses." 

Bardock did as he was told. The sun slipped below the horizon as the lesson continued. Goten curled up in a corner of the cave, bored of watching as his grandfather tried to master the new techniques. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. 

About an hour after Goten had fallen asleep, Trunks and Bardock called it quits for the night. The older Saiyan had made remarkable progress, something that Trunks guessed might also be hereditary, because Goku was also a quick study when it came to learning new fighting techniques. Nonetheless, it was tiring work. Teaching _and_ learning. 

Bardock lay down on the sandy floor of the cave, shifting Goten's head so that it lay against his chest, rather than the rock his grandson had chosen as a pillow. Trunks flopped down next to him and, with Bardock's stomach as his pillow, soon followed Goten into the land of dreams. The older warrior smiled as he closed his eyes. He, too, was soon asleep. 

~*~

Something woke Bardock up during the early hours of the morning. He couldn't say what it was, though. Perhaps it was due to his recent training in sensing ki, or perhaps it was because of instincts honed by years of training and fighting. Whatever it was, he knew something was wrong. 

Senses alert, the warrior got up, making sure to move the two boys gently so as not to wake them. If it was a false alarm, there was no need to make them lose sleep over it, too. If it wasn't, Bardock felt sure he could handle it by himself. He might only be a third-class Saiyan, but his power was actually greater than some elites. He stealthily crept out of the cave, scanning the area with a well-trained eye. Something was not right. He was certain of it. 

Taking a deep breath, Bardock extended his senses in the manner Trunks had taught him yesterday. He couldn't extend his senses very far yet, but he would welcome any advantage he could find. Wait... there was something there. On the very edge of his newly found ki senses. A sense of powerful ki approaching. It wasn't as powerful as he was, he thought. He wasn't sure of that last because he wasn't used to comparing ki to his own. He wished he had a scouter, to make sure, but he didn't. He'd left his at his apartment when the prince had summoned him. 

He decided to trust his feelings and walked towards the unknown ki, suppressing his own ki so as to fool any scouters that might be trained in his direction. The element of surprise was something Bardock had come to value over the many years of combat he'd experienced. The stars shown down on him faintly, providing all the light he needed to navigate between the trees and bushes. Any second now he should spot the source of the ki. 

The stars were noticeably dimmer and the sky a shade brighter when Bardock suddenly crouched behind a clump of underbrush and scrub. His ki senses had been right. Someone was directly ahead of him. The cold air prickled his skin as he strained his eyes to make out details on the warrior he faced. The tail swaying back and forth behind him marked him as definitely Saiyan, and he was _huge_. He couldn't make out distinct facial characteristics, but Bardock could tell the man was also bald. As the giant cautiously stepped through the forest, Bardock noted that he was fiddling with a scouter on his face, turning his head this way and that as though looking for something. 

Bardock smirked. Apparently the scouters were being successfully fooled. Here he stood, no more than then paces away from a guard, and he still hadn't been noticed. Bardock blessed his two young friends for teaching him how to hide his ki. 

With a start, the warrior suddenly realized that the large man was looking in the direction of the cave. Bardock's keen sense of hearing caught a faint _beep_ing sound and his blood ran cold. He extended his senses back in the direction of the cave and found that he could sense the ki of one of the two boys, which one he couldn't tell. He swore inwardly, using words he'd never repeat in front of either Trunks or Goten. Or most people he even liked remotely, for that matter. 

They'd been discovered. There was only one thing left to do. 

Faster than the weaker warrior could possible hope to track, Bardock sped out of hiding and did two things at once. One fist slammed into the larger man's gut. The other reached up and grabbed the scouter off of the guard's face. No need to let him report his discovery. Caught off guard, the enemy doubled over and gagged, a few flecks of blood flying out of his open mouth. 

Bardock was no longer hiding his ki. He still had the advantage, though, because he could sense ki while his opponent obviously could not. He could only pray to whatever gods might be listening that there were no other Saiya-jin nearby whose scouters would pick up the elevated energy signatures. 

Not wasting any time, Bardock leapt back and launched a roundhouse punch to the other man's face. The other man's _ugly_ face, he noted with disgust. The over-large, mustachioed face was the kind that even a mother would find hard to love. It looked like a bad rock sculptor had chiseled out a rough map of the face he wanted, and then forgot to smooth the details. Said face became even uglier, if that was possible, as it snarled wordlessly. His opponent blocked the punch with an upraised arm, and countered with a knee aimed for Bardock's gut. 

Dodging to his left, Bardock's leg lashed out and caught the other Saiyan in the ribs. The taller man winced and shrugged off the pain, answering with another punch, this one aimed at Bardock's own stomach. Bardock grabbed the other's wrist and shoved it to one side, his other hand hastily blocking another punch directed towards his face. As though by mutual agreement, the two disengaged and stood a few paces from each other, breathing slightly harder. In the sky, the sun was just peaking up over the horizon. Only a few stars were left to be seen. 

"Tell me," Bardock said, grinning. "Who are you? I'd like to know who I'm about to send to Hell." 

"I am Nappa!" the giant boomed out, making Bardock wince. He seriously doubted this man had the ability to speak quietly. "I am the Prince's personal bodyguard and," he added with a smirk, "soon to be your executioner." Nappa didn't bother mentioning that he was supposed to bring Bardock and the two chibis in alive. His quarry didn't need to know that particular detail. 

If Nappa was hoping to scare Bardock with his statement, he was sorely disappointed. Bardock only smirked and launched a rather potent ki blast at him which he hastily dodged. The ball of energy sailed on behind him until it nailed a tree and exploded. Nothing was left of the tree except smoking cinders and the blackened remains of a stump. 

"Big talk from a man with a brain too small to find with a microscope," he mocked. "Let's see if you can back up your words with your fists!" 

Nappa roared in rage and launched another flurry of attacks, peppered occasionally by ki blasts, and so the fight continued. 

~*~

Goten yawned and stretched lazily, looking around him as he sat up. His brow furrowed. Where was Bardock? To one side lay Trunks, still asleep, a trickle of drool dangling from the corner of his mouth, but Bardock was nowhere to be seen. 

The eight year old boy leaned over and shook his friend. "Trunks. Trunks! Wake up!" he yelled urgently. Trunks groaned as he rolled over and looked at his friend. "Trunks, grandpa's gone!" 

That woke Trunks up the rest of the way. He shot upright and looked around. His eyes lost focus as he extended his ki senses, looking for the distinct power that was Bardock. He gasped as he became aware of the ferocious battle that was occuring only a few minutes away from them. "I sense him, Goten! He's fighting someone over there!" He pointed towards the walls of one of the caves, in the direction that he felt Bardock's ki coming from. Goten's gaze followed his and his eyes, too, lost focus. 

"Do you think he's in trouble?" Goten asked worriedly. He stood up and started towards the cave entrance. 

"Nah," Trunks reassured his friend. "That power he's fighting isn't as strong as him. C'mon! Let's go watch! I haven't gotten to see how your grandpa fights yet. This should be fun!" He got up and followed the younger boy out of the cave. The two started dashing towards where the conflict was still going strong. 

~*~

Nappa was strong, he had to give him that, but Bardock was stronger, as well as faster. He formed a ball of energy in each hand, then zanzokened behind his enemy. He swung his arms together with Nappa's head directly in between where the two ki balls would meet. The ensueing explosion, as well as Nappa's scream of anger and pain, could be heard for miles around. 

It wasn't until Bardock was doubled over in pain that he realized he'd gotten cocky and had let his guard down. Nappa had taken advantage of his opponent's weakness and sent an elbow backwards, ramming into Bardock's gut with all the power he could muster. The guard smiled as he noted flecks of blood mixed with saliva fly past his face. 

"Prepare to die, third-class scum," Nappa grated out, smirking in triumph. 

"I wouldn't count on it, baka," Bardock spat out, grinning harshly. He'd noticed something that Nappa hadn't. Two things, really. The first was that Trunks and Goten had just shown up and were now sitting in a tree at the edge of the clearing where the fight was taking place. The second was even more important, in Bardock's mind. Nappa, in his confidence that he had seriously injured Bardock and would soon win, had just stepped underneath a limb where a lopsided spherical object was hanging. Bardock knew what it was and willing to take advantage of it. Smirking, he lifted a finger and sent a small, pea-sized ki blast at the thin connection between the branch and the papery object. 

Nappa saw the blast coming and laughed. Did Bardock really expect to hurt him with that puny blast? Not only that, but it was poorly aimed, as well! He wouldn't even need to move in order to avoid it. 

In reality, the ki was aimed exactly where Bardock wanted it to go. It seered through stem that held the ball up, which promptly fell and landed on Nappa's head. The smaller warrior smirked. 

On Vegeta-sei, there exists a small, stingered insect, rather like the bees of Chikyuu. The only differences between the two is that the taper wasps have a limited intelligence and a mild venom in their stingers, as well as the ability to sting their foe multiple times without losing their stinger. The venom was really only a nuisance to a Saiyan, though a rather distracting one, as was the actual sting. The true problem lay within the wasps' intelligence. When their nest was disturbed, they immediately attacked the nearest target and nothing else. In this case, that was Nappa. 

Bardock noticed the two boys laughing hysterically in the background and he threw a grin their way. Meanwhile, Nappa was yelling and swatting at the taper wasps, throwing ki blasts randomly, and all in all looking like the idiot he was. _Time to end this_, Bardock thought to himself. While Nappa was distracted with the pain of the wasps' stings and venom, the spiky haired Saiya-jin powered up a lethal ki blast. He aimed carefully, then threw the sphere of light and energy straight into Nappa's chest. 

He never even had a chance. Half-mad with the venom of thousands of wasp stings, Nappa never even saw it coming. When the light of the explosion faded, the only thing left behind was a smoking crater and the charred remains of what had once been the loyal bodyguard of the young Prince Vegeta. 

Inhaling deeply, Bardock turned away from the grisly scene and looked at the two boys. Trunks looked disturbed and Goten... Goten looked like he was going to be sick. As much as the two boys loved to fight and had been fighting most of their lives, this was the first time they had actually witnessed something like this. Majin Buu was one thing. He was a monster who looked like a wad of bubblegum shaped into the semblance of being. This was different. They had just seen a man, human enough in appearance, burnt to a crisp, the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh permeating the air. Goten gagged, his stomach trying to heave up anything that remained of last night's dinner, which wasn't much. Trunks was pale and trembling, though he looked better than Goten. 

Bardock walked up to the two boys and knelt before them. He pulled both of them against his chest and patted their backs. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he murmured. Neither boy responded as they clung to him. Bardock held them for a few more moments before he released them. "We need to find another place to hide," he said, trying to draw their minds away from the events of the morning. "I don't know if anyone else is nearby, but if there is, then their scouters probably picked up the energy from my fight." He hurriedly suppressed his ki once more and stood up. "We can't use that ship of yours, Trunks, if there are a bunch of Saiya-jin hanging around." He ruffled the hair on both boys' heads as he started off in another direction. "You kids didn't leave anything in the cave, did you?" 

"N-no," Trunks shook his head. "I have all my capsules and everything with me." 

"And I didn't have anything besides what I'm wearing," Goten added. 

Bardock nodded. "All right, then, let's get moving. I think I know of another place we can hide in until things settle down a bit." 

~*~

Yes! YES! NAPPA IS DEAD! WOO HOO! *cackles insanely* 

Trunks: How did she get out of that room we put her in? 

Gohan: I have no clue. 

Brenda: *calms down* Hehe... don't worry, I'm okay now. I'm just overly pleased about getting rid of that bakayaro. Bardock is my new hero. *starry eyes* He rid the universe of one of the greatest (and ugliest... and stupidest... and weakest) evils ever known. Yay, Bardock! *finds Bardock and gives him a big hug* 

Bardock: *blushes* Ah... it was nothing. 

Brenda: But it was everything to me. *stares adoringly at Bardock* 

Trunks and Gohan: *mutter under their breath and glare at Bardock jealously* 

I have absolutely no clue if those lessons on sensing and suppressing ki are actually true or not. I just made them up, trying to find the most reasonable explanations for how it's supposed to work. Hope I didn't do too bad of a job. ^_^ 

Well, you guys wanted a fight scene! There it is! My first DBZ fight scene ever, as well as my first unarmed combat fight scene. How'd I do? Please tell me what you think! 


	12. Calm Before The Storm

Hee hee, I finally badgered my friend into reading my story. Guess what it got me? She's decided she wants to post it on her web page. That's all well and good, but here's the funny part. Her web page is a SAILOR MOON web page! Lol. Ah, well, more publicity for me, although there's no nifty review button, 'cause the story's in her message board/forum. Don't know that any of you particularly care about Sailor Moon, but I feel obligated to include her website URL here. It's really a very, VERY good Sailor Moon site. Coming from _me_, that's high praise indeed, since I'm very critical of web sites, no matter their content. 

Sign of the Senshi can be found at http://www.signofsenshi.com 

(For those of you who are reading this through Sign of the Senshi, reviews, questions, comments, flames, constructive criticism, etc. can be sent to me via e-mail at brook_tamlin@yahoo.com Please specify in the subject that the e-mail has to do with Wish For The Past.) 

Disclaimer: *clears throat* *holds up a microphone and starts to sing* Iiiii don't ooown DBZzzzzzz!!! La la la la! *voice cracks as she tries to hit a note too high for her alto voice* And if I diiiid, I'd be riiiich, which I'm nooooot! So please, pleeeease! Don't sue meeeee!!! 

Trunks, Gohan, and Bardock all cringe and cover their sensitive Saiyan ears in an attempt to protect them from the voice of Brenda. 

Trunks: *moans* Please, please, stop! 

Gohan: *on his knees* *begs* No more! 

Bardock: We'll do anything! Just make it stop! 

Brenda: *shuts up and grins* ...Anything? *ominous laughter* 

(A/N: *sweatdrop* I actually _can_ sing fairly well... when I want to.... And if you want to find out what happens to these poor Saiyans, you'll have to get to the end of the chapter. *evil grin* This chapter's a little short, I know, but I was having serious writer's block. Things should pick up pace soon. ^_^) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Calm Before The Storm) 

Bardock winced in pain as he took another step. It felt like he'd broken some ribs during that fight. Probably bruised some vital organs as well, from the feel of it. Nappa hadn't really been that hard to beat, but the big brute had packed a mean punch. He probably shouldn't be walking around right now, but he didn't exactly have much of a choice. He and the boys needed to find someplace to hide for the next day or so. Bardock was taking them to such a place now. 

"Are you okay, Bardock-san?" Trunks asked as the older Saiyan bit back another gasp of pain. 

He'd be damned before he admitted his weakness, especially since it was something as insignificant as pain. "Just fine," he grunted, pushing aside a tree branch. He wished they could fly to where they were going, but that wasn't possible. You had to use your ki to fly, and if they used ki, any Saiyan with a scouter would be able to find them. Thus they had to resort to travelling on foot. "Just... a little sore, that's all," he lied. 

One look at Trunks's and Goten's faces told him that they didn't believe a word of it. Thankfully, though, neither one called his bluff. He felt that he needed to be strong for them, since he was the only adult. Even if they were physically stronger than him, they were still children who needed someone to be 'in charge'. It wouldn't do if they had to carry their so-called 'leader' to their new hiding place. 

"How much farther, grandpa?" Goten asked. It wasn't that he was complaining. He asked because he was worried about Bardock. He recognized the stubborn Saiya-jin pride for what it was and hoped that Bardock had enough sense to know his limits and not let his pride rule his actions. 

"Not too far," Bardock replied. "It should be over this next hill." 

Just as they neared the top of the hill, Goten's ears pricked up. Was that running water he heard? He sniffed the air experimentally. Yes, he could smell water in the air. They must be nearing a stream or river. His suspicions were confirmed when he reached the top of the hill and looked down on a small valley which was bisected by a curving river. The plants on either side of the river suddenly grew taller and greener (or redder, in the case of some plants that had red leaves instead of green) and the air seemed fresher somehow. 

Bardock smiled at the looks of wonder on the boys' faces. "If you go downstream a bit, there's a waterfall with a cave hidden behind it that should make a good place to hide. I used to play here when I was younger. The river provides water and fish, as well as a kind of moss that really tastes pretty good once you wash all the river mud out of it." His eyes lost focus as his thoughts drifted back to those days of relative innocence. Shaking his head to clear it of the memories, he continued, "After we check the cave out to make sure it's still there and that there hasn't been a cave-in, you two can go catch some fish for breakfast. You _do_ know how to fish, right?" 

"I do! I do!" Goten jumped up and down in excitement. "Tousan and me have gone fishing lots of times." Three Saiyan stomachs rumbled at the thought of fresh fish and it was all the boys could do to keep themselves from running ahead in excitement. Bardock chuckled at their child-like enthusiasm, then winced as pain shot through his chest. 

_Damn it... Now I'm _sure_ I broke at least one of my ribs, and that rib seems to be poking into one of my lungs. I need to stop moving around as soon as possible, before I get a punctured lung. That would be bad, especially without access to any regeneration tanks._ Taking a painful breath, he moved on, heading downstream towards the roar of the waterfall and the refuge that it held. 

~*~

Growling in frustration, the young Prince Vegeta impatiently flicked his tail around his waist as he left the throne room. _Where _is_ that idiot Nappa?!_ he mentally raged. Nappa hadn't reported in since early this morning. It was nearly noon and no sign of the errant bodyguard was to be found. 

More frustrating than that was the feeling of actually _being_ in charge. Until recently, he had always taken orders from someone else, even if that person was his father. Someone had always been higher up than him. Yes, people listened to him and obeyed his commands, unless countermanded by the late King Vegeta or the late Frieza, but this was different. Now he was actually expected to take command, no questions asked. Vegeta didn't know if he was ready for this kind of responsibility. 

On top of all that, he was expected to remain behind, safe and sound. Like a coward. Everyone else would be taking the risks and having all the fun, and the chibi prince wanted nothing more than to join them in the search for the three fugitives. 

The Prince of all Saiyans wearily trudged up to his room. He would never admit such weakness, but he missed his father. Bitterly he recalled that Frieza had killed his father. He was glad the murdering alien bastard was dead, but, in a way, he wished it were otherwise. He would never be able to have revenge against the one who had wrong him, his family, his people. Hell, Frieza had wronged the whole universe! Vegeta flopped onto his bed, letting his depression get the better of him. 

His mind wandered over the past day or so, stopping as he came to the point where that strange purple haired Saiyan boy had popped into the throne room out of nowhere. Something about that boy bothered him. He seemed eerily familiar to the prince, as though he should know him but couldn't remember where he had seen him. He could swear that he'd never met the gaki before, nor had he heard of anyone with such a ridiculous name as 'Trunks', but the feeling that he knew the boy could not be dismissed. 

_He almost acted like he knew me,_ the spiky haired prince mused to himself. _He even seemed pleased to see me there. Why is that, I wonder?_ Sitting up suddenly in a gesture of frustration, the Saiya-jin no Ouji made up his mind. 

He was going to go out and personally search for Bardock, Kakarot, and Trunks, and no one could stop him. He was, after all, in charge, and if he couldn't command his subjects to allow him to participate in the hunt himself, then what good was having power? 

~*~

Bardock leaned gratefully against the cool, slanted stone wall, breathing in the cool, moist air of his childhood lair. Everything was as he remembered it. Light filtered in through the rushing water, playing on the walls and floor in ever-changing patterns. Moss grew everywhere, some green, some orange, some yellow, all emitting a soft, earthy smell. The large, flat rock he had often used as a make-shift table sat to one side of the puddle that had formed in the center of the cave. It was perfect. 

Except for one thing. 

Bardock was in pain. Each breath hurt more than the last, making him wonder if his ribs had splintered and a shard of bone had worked its way into his left lung. He cursed himself for an idiot. He had known that walking with broken ribs was asking for trouble, but had ignored himself in favor of his damned Saiyan pride. Now he was suffering the consequences. 

At least the boys weren't there to see him like this. They had immediately taken off to go fishing, promising to come back with the biggest fish Bardock had ever seen. The warrior smiled at the memory. 

Sighing, he reflected that staying still helped ease the pain somewhat. He truly hoped that he was wrong in his assessment of his ribs. Broken ribs healed. A bone shard in his lung was another matter entirely. Such things took regeneration tanks, and occasionally an actual surgery had to take place to remove the offending sliver. If such was the problem in his case, he knew that he would be in trouble. He had no access to either a regen tank or a skilled physician. 

Closing his eyes, he did the only thing he could do. Sleep. 

~*~

"Trunks, I'm worried," Goten whined as he lugged the cow sized fish back to the waterfall cave. He could have caught a bigger one, but Trunks had reminded him that the cave was only so big. If they were still hungry, they'd just have to go catch more. "Grandpa didn't look so good when we left him. I think maybe he got hurt when he was fighting that ugly guy." 

Trunks gave his friend a sidelong look. He _had_ noticed that Bardock was a few shades paler than he should have been and that he seemed to be trying to hide his pain from the two chibis. Trunks knew that he was far from fine, despite what the older Saiya-jin said. He was slightly surprised, however, that Goten had also noticed his grandfather's condition. 

"I think you're right, Goten," the older boy stated, concern evident in his voice. "I think Bardock-san was lying when he said he was all right. Y'know, to keep us from worrying?" 

Goten nodded solemnly. "I don't know what to do, Trunks," he pined. "I don't want my grandpa to die!" 

"He's not gonna die, baka!" Trunks protested. "Our dads have been hurt worse before and lived, remember?" 

"But our dads are stronger than my grandpa, Trunks!" the younger boy whimpered. 

"Quit being such a baby, Goten," the purple haired demi-saiyan chided. "Your grandpa will be fine. Trust me!" 

Sniffling, Goten nodded, though he remained pensive for the rest of the trip back to the cave. 

~*~

Both boys dropped their fish on top of the large flat rock that served as a table. Goten was immediately by Bardock's side, worriedly looking into the older Saiyan's face. Bardock was asleep, his face pale and drawn, his breath coming in shallow gasps. This, of course, did nothing to soothe the younger boy's fears. Goten's eyes welled up with tears as he turned to look at his friend. 

"Trunks, he looks even worse than before," he cried softly. 

Hiding his own worry for the sake of his friend, Trunks scowled at Goten. "I told you, he'll be fine! He just needs something to eat. You know how bad it feels to be hungry, don't you?" 

Goten nodded, though he was only half-convinced that this was the real problem. "I guess we should cook that fish, huh, Trunks?" 

Trunks nodded sharply and set about attempting to fry both fish. Cooking with ki blasts wasn't really the best idea, but they didn't have any wood nearby. Neither boy wanted to wait the time it would take to gather the necessary firewood, in case it _was_ hunger that was making Bardock look so terrible. Trunks took a deep breath, then carefully gathered a small amount of ki. Even if a scouter was pointed in their direction, the amount of ki being used was so insignificant that it would barely register. It was enough, though, to completely fry both fish, charring the edges slightly. The older boy eyed the fish warily, then shrugged. 

"Goten, wake your grandpa up." 

"Hai, Trunks-kun!" Goten put a hand on Bardock's chest and gently shook him. Unfortunately, he placed his hand directly over the ribs that had been cracked during the fight with Nappa. Bardock screamed in agony, his face contorting in intense pain. Panicking, Goten pulled his hand away and gripped it with his other hand. "Grandpa, grandpa, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you! I swear!" he whimpered. 

Panting heavily, the wounded Saiyan opened his eyes and forced his lips into a smile, which looked more like a grimace of pain. "Ie. Ie, Goten-chan. Don't worry about it. You didn't hurt me too badly." As naive as he was, even Goten didn't believe a word of it. His eyes watered and tears slid down his cheeks. 

"I was only trying to wake you up, grandpa," he sobbed. "So you could eat and get better. I didn't mean to hurt you!" 

Bardock reached out and ruffled his grandson's spiky black hair affectionately, his smile becoming more genuine as the pain subsided to a dull throb. "It's all right, it's okay," he murmured. "I forgive you. I know you didn't mean it." He sniffed the air, the scent of cooked fish tickling his nostrils. "I smell fish," he stated the obvious in an attempt to change the subject. 

Trunks, who had up until this point remained silent, took the opportunity to speak. "Hai! Goten and I caught two big fish and I cooked them!" he said proudly. It was a well-known fact that his family had... difficulty... cooking. And that was understating things immensely. He grabbed one of the fish and brought it over to Bardock. "Here! You need to eat so you can get better, Bardock." 

Chuckling weakly, Bardock gestured to the other fish. "Will that be enough for the two of you?" 

Wiping his tears away, Goten smiled at the older man. "Prob'ly not, but we can always catch more, right Trunks?" 

"Right!" 

Bardock, Goten, and Trunks all began to eat ravenously. Hunger overrode Bardock's pain, enabling him to eat despite the complaints his chest gave him. Once his stomach was full, Bardock settled back against the wall and drifted off into sleep again. Goten and Trunks had gone to get more fish and maybe forage for some fruit or the moss that Bardock had told them about. 

~*~

"Status report." 

"Estimated time to arrival is nineteen hours, twenty-two minutes, sire!" 

"Good. Soon we will be there, and I can avenge my son...." 

~*~

Smirking with glee, the Prince of all Saiya-jin flew off in the direction of the location that Nappa had last reported from. Decked out in full battle armor, complete with a flowing red cape, the boy made an impressive figure, despite the fact that he _was_ just a boy. Behind him, four more Saiyans follow, also dressed in their finest battle gear. With the air whistling through hair that looked like a black flame, the prince grinned predatorily. It was time to go Saiyan hunting. 

~*~

*click* _Flash!_ *click* _Flash!_

Brenda: *holds up her camera and grins broadly* Okay, okay, that's great! Now, all three of you together. Hey! No 'bunny ears', Gohan! Bardock? Could you move to the left a little bit? Your hair is poking in front of Trunk's face. There, that's better. 

Bardock: Er... how much longer do we have to do this? 

Brenda: Just a few more pictures, then we're done. *drools* *snaps off a few more pictures of Trunks, Gohan, and Bardock all wearing swimming trunks* One last picture of me with all of you.... hmm... need someone to hold the camera... *disappears for a moment, then comes back, wearing a bathing suit, and dragging Kat (my friend with the SM web site) behind her* Kitty Kat? Please please please take a picture of me with my friends? *gives her the famous Son Puppy Eyes (TM)* 

Kat: Ok! Hee hee hee! *giggles and turns into a chibi-version of herself, complete with cat ears and a cat's tail* (A/N: Kat's idea, not mine.) 

Brenda: Thanks! *walks over to the three Saiyans and poses with them* 

*click* _Flash!_

Brenda: Woo hoo! I got pictures! Now we can all go swimming! *grins and pulls the three hot guys over to a pool* 

Kat: *giggles, then catches sight of one of the men she just took a picture of* *squeals* GOHAN-SAN!!! *accidentally drops the camera in her excitement* 

Brenda: NOOooo!!!! *watches as her coveted pictures are destroyed before even being developed* *growls* KAAAAAAT!!!! 

Kat: Eeep! *cowers behind Gohan* Save me, Gohan! 

Brenda: *pulls out Chi-Chi's Frying Pan of Doom* DIE!!! And get away from my Gohan! *chases Kat away with the frying pan* 

The three Saiyans sweatdrop in unison. 

~*~

Thanks to Tony Montana for pointing out those mistakes in the last chapter. Can't believe I had Bardock shoot himself in the chest... *sweatdrop* As for making the punishment more brutal... keep in mind that Bardock _was_ aware that the kids were watching. It was bad enough to fry Nappa in front of their eyes. I didn't wanna scar them for life. ^_^ 

Tony and Darkfire, thank you both for the suggestions. I'm not gonna answer any of them specifically, but don't be surprised if some of them happen. I've been planning on doing some of them since the beginning of the story, though I'm not going to say which. That would just spoil the story. *grins* 

Japhia, kassygirl, Peter Kim... *sweatdrop* Be patient. It will happen. Eventually. If I had all of the surprises happen in one chapter, the rest of the story would be pretty dull. ^_^ Yes, I consider this after the Buu saga (never mind that I haven't seen all of it, and ignore the fact that this story doesn't stay true to all of the events of the Buu saga). However, in regards to both the SSJ transformation and the fusion, I'm not going to have Trunks and Goten do either one unless there's a specific need for that kind of strength (e.g. they're sparring together or they face off against a really, _really_ powerful enemy). I doubt the fusion will happen in _this_ story. SSJ will, and if you read those last few sentences carefully, you might have spotted a hint as to when SSJ will happen. *grins* 

Speaking of Gotenks... Like I said, he probably won't appear in this story, BUT I need to know information about him. I don't know what attacks he uses, special abilities, how strong he is, how long fusion lasts, time needed before fusing is possible after a fusion ends, abilities/weaknesses/strengths/etc. of the failed fusions... you get my drift. I need any and all info about Gotenks that you guys can give me. Either put it in a review or e-mail me at brook_tamlin@yahoo.com . Arigato! 

*sweatdrops* I guess I ought to have gotten around to this long ago. If you want me to e-mail you whenever I post a new chapter (be it at fanfiction.net or Sign of the Senshi) either say so in a review (and give me your e-mail address) or e-mail me personally saying that you wish to be added to my mailing list. **_Please make sure that you give the e-mail address that you want me to mail you at! And make sure it's correct!_**

_**Story Advertising**_

Okay, okay, this _isn't_ a Bardock story, but it's sooo good that I just had to advertise it. 

It's called 'Bring Your Father To School Day' by Frozenflower. storyid=672445. Gohan's school is having a special day where you bring one of your parents to school. Utter mayhem breaks out as almost everything that can go wrong DOES go wrong. It's hilarious! 


	13. Hunter and Hunted

ChibiChibi... *grins broadly* I was wondering if _anyone_ would remember that little detail from the chapter "Go To Hell". Read on to find the answer to your question. 

Thank you, thank you! *bows dramatically* Did you all hear that? Darkfire says I have a devious mind! *smirks* You have no idea. Just wait 'til you see what I did in _this_ chapter. *cackles sinisterly, then smiles beautifully* But I will take that as a compliment. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: *lifts the Frying Pan of Doom threateningly at Kat* Gohan is MINE! *waves the frying pan around as Kat edges towards Gohan* Keep away from him! *latches onto a disturbed looking Gohan* You can't have him! *suddenly becomes aware of the audience* *gulps* *blushes in embarrassment* Er... that is... what I meant to say is... DBZ ain't mine. Don't own the characters.... *glares at Kat* But Gohan is still mine! *sticks out her tongue* 

**

Wish For The Past

**   
(Hunter and Hunted) 

The stench was awful. Burned flesh and rotting meat were definitely not on Vegeta's list of favorite scents, but that was exactly what he faced as he stared down into the crater at the remains of what had once been his bodyguard, Nappa. Well, he had been wondering why Nappa hadn't reported in yet. He had his answer now. 

Refusing to allow the smell to affect him, the young prince paced forwards until he was only a few feet from the body. He examined it in hopes of discovering some clue as to how he had met this fate. Broken bones, seared flesh, ravaged terrain, and a dozen other signs pointed at a brutal battle against a skilled opponent. Not the boy, Kakarot, though. If Nappa had fought against Kakarot, Vegeta guessed that there would be no body and fewer signs of battle. The fight would have been over too quickly to cause this kind of damage. 

No. This, then, had to be the work of either Bardock or the pale haired boy, Trunks. The Prince had no idea how strong Trunks was, but he knew that Bardock had been a fighter for all of his life. A fairly strong one, for a third-class warrior, if the reports were right. If Vegeta had been in a betting mood, he would have wagered that it was Bardock that Nappa had fought against. 

With nothing more to discovered, the chibi prince turned away, his face emotionless. "Search for any nearby powers, no matter how small," he ordered. If he was right and Bardock had been the one to fight against Nappa, he was probably injured. His power would be low and he would not have been able to go very far without assistance. The two boys might be with him, but the one seemed to have to ability to raise his ki dramatically from a low base ki - either that or he had some method or device that allowed him to hide it - and the other had never had his power read. Trunks could be pathetically weak, for all they knew. Any of the three that Vegeta sought could have a current power low enough to normally be dismissed out of hand. He would not make that mistake. 

He would find those three, and he would have his answers. 

"I am picking up three ki signatures, Vegeta-ouji," one of his escorts stated. "One is 205, and the other two, who are farther away, are 420 and 495." The Saiyan warrior pointed in the general direction of the three powers. 

Vegeta frowned. The highest of the three kis was more than 200 points lower than Kakarot's before he'd powered up. Perhaps he had been injured by Nappa, or maybe the scouter had malfunctioned. No matter the reason, however, the was only one way to find out. He nodded once, sharply. "We will head for the nearest one first, then track down the other two." Out of curiosity, he attached his own scouter to his ear. Normally he let his guards read powers and do the tracking themselves, as it was beneath the prince to do such menial work. But he didn't want to voice his question out loud. 

Pressing a button on the scouter, he located the three kis in question. Two remained steady and were moving around. The third, and closest and weakest one, remained immobile, its numbers slowly dropping. 

His curiosity satisfied, Vegeta levitated up into the air and headed towards the nearest ki. He smirked. It looked like he had been right. Someone - Vegeta guessed it was Bardock - had been mortally wounded and now lay dying. 

~*~

It was hard to resist the urge to eat everything that they had gathered, but somehow Trunks and Goten managed. Oh, they still ate some of the nuts, berries, fruits, and other assorted plants that Bardock had pointed out as being edible while they had trekked to the waterfall, but it wasn't really enough to satiate the two Saiyan appetites. Nonetheless, they had agreed that half of whatever they found would be saved, to either be given to Bardock, or to be stashed away inside one of Trunks's capsules. Once they left the planet, they would need a lot of food to last them until they got to Namek or to Earth. Trunks still had some capsules filled with food, but he felt that they would need more. 

"I think we have enough gathered to fill another capsule, Trunks," Goten said, staring hungrily at the mound of food. They'd already filled one capsule with ki-fried fish. 

Smiling, the lavender haired boy put his hand into his pocket to retrieve his capsule case. His fingers came in contact with the case, only to find that it had somehow opened and had spilled its contents into his pocket. He muttered a curse, too low for Goten's ears to hear, and had to grab a handful of capsules from his pocket, searching for one that was empty. 

He found more than just capsules. Trunks's eyes widened as he saw what his hand held. "GOTEN!" he yelled, causing his friend to jump nearly ten feet into the air. 

"Don't _do_ that, Trunks! You scared me!" 

Ignoring his friend's glare of annoyance, Trunks danced around jubilantly with his fist in the air. "I totally forgot I had these! I'm such an _idiot_, Goten! We didn't ever have to worry about your grandpa at all!" 

Goten looked at Trunks as though he had gone crazy. "What are you talking about, Trunks?" 

Trunks stopped his celebration dance and held out his hand, palm open, to show his friend what he had just found. Mixed in with the capsules were two small, hard, brown beans. Senzu beans. "I've been saving these for a while now. When I packed my things to go to Namek, I put them in my pocket, since I didn't know if I'd need them or not. I guess I forgot about them, but that's not the point." The older boy grinned like an idiot. "The point is that we can give one of these to your grandpa!" 

The younger demi-saiyan's eyes also widened at the realization. A large grin spread across his face. "Come on, Trunks, get that food put in a capsule and let's get back to my grandpa!" he shouted excitedly. As his friend threw a capsule at the food, Goten continued. "Hey, Trunks, I bet my grandpa's never seen a senzu bean before! I bet he'll-" The black haired Saiyan cut himself off, his eyes wide with horror. Trunks picked up the now-full capsule and glanced at Goten to see why he had stopped. 

"What is it, Goten? What's wrong?" 

"Don't you sense it, Trunks?" Goten's eyes swiveled and focused on a spot somewhere in the distance. "Your dad's ki! It's getting closer!" 

Trunks extended his senses to find that Goten was right. The younger version of his father _was_ getting closer. "He's heading straight for your grandpa, Goten!" he yelled in alarm. "We've gotta stop him before he gets there, or he'll kill Bardock!" 

Throwing caution to the wind, the two boys launched themselves into the sky and raced back to where Bardock remained hidden. _Please don't let us be too late. Please let us get there before Vegeta does,_ Trunks silently prayed. 

~*~

The beauty of the scenery was lost upon the young prince Vegeta as he stared at the roaring waters that cascaded over the cliff. According to the scouters, the ki they were seeking lay somewhere _within_ the waterfall. There was probably a cave hidden behind the deluge of water. Vegeta grinned predatorily in anticipation. He had found his quarry, and now he could begin the pleasurable process of extracting the answers he desired. 

He floated slowly up along the side of the falling waters, looking for the cave where his prey was hiding. There. A dark recess mostly hidden from view caught the prince's eye and he grinned again. His four companions hovered behind him as he drifted towards the cave. 

Only to stop short as two small forms suddenly flashed in between Vegeta and the cave. The two Saiyan boys faced the four adults and the prince, everyone in a fighting stance and eyeing each other warily. Vegeta's obsidian eyes met the blue eyes of the odd purple haired Saiyan boy and again he felt like he should _know_ the kid. 

"Goten, Bardock's ki is getting really low. I don't think he's got much longer. Here," the boy paused and shoved something that Vegeta couldn't see into Kakarot's hand, "give this to him. I'll hold off Vegeta and his men." 

"But Vegeta's your-" 

"Can it, Goten!" Trunks barked. "Bardock needs you! I'll be fine, don't worry. Now _go on_!!" 

Interesting. What had Kakarot - or was it Goten? - been about to say? Vegeta was Trunks's what? Vegeta felt sure that it had something to do with the mysterious feeling that he knew Trunks from somewhere. The black haired chibi-Saiyan cast a look at Vegeta and Trunks, then flew off into the cave, vanishing from view. That left the Prince of the Saiyans to face this disturbing boy. 

Folding his arms, he glared at Trunks with all the pride that the prince of the mightiest warrior race could hold - which was a rather considerable amount. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly. Maybe he could get figure out what it was that bothered him about this boy by talking to him. 

"Trunks," came the simple reply. 

Not satisfied, the chibi prince pressed on. "I know you from somewhere. And you know me. I want to know how, and you will tell me," he said haughtily. 

"Yeah, right," the boy snorted. "Why would I have to tell you anything?" 

"I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji!" Vegeta yelled angrily. "You must obey my commands! If you will not willingly tell me what I want to know, I will arrange to have you tortured slowly until you are begging for the opportunity to tell me!" 

"Get over yourself, Veggie-chan," Trunks mocked. _Man, I have wanted to say that for soooo long_, he snickered inwardly. He watched with sinister glee as his chibi-father's eye started twitching and his face turned five shades of red. 

With a roar of unbridled rage, the young prince attacked Trunks all-out, his power surging through his veins wildly, his face a mask of fury. 

~*~

As Goten's eyes adjusted to the darker interior of the cave, his gaze fell upon his grandfather and he felt his heart freeze inside his small chest. Bardock lay on his back, his face turned to one side with his mouth hanging open slightly. One hand rested on his broken ribs in a vain attempt to soothe the pain. Blood soaked the ground near Bardock's mouth and covered the man's lips. A weak cough caused more blood to trickle from Bardock's mouth, pooling with the rest of the blood on the ground. His ki was so low that Goten had to strain to feel it. The young boy felt tears welling in his eyes as he choked back a sob. 

Kneeling beside his grandfather, he placed his small hand on Bardock's broad chest and shook him slightly. Tears slid down his cheeks, falling to splash lightly on his grandfather's face. "Grandpa?" Goten's voice trembled as he shook the warrior again. "Grandpa? It's me. Goten. Grandpa, I have something for you." The tears were coming faster now and Goten's body shook with suppressed sobs. 

Bardock's eyelids fluttered slightly, then slowly lifted halfway. After a moment, the inky eyes beneath focused on Goten and the trace of a smile graced Bardock's lips. "Goten," he whispered, one hand weakly lifting to wipe the tears from his grandson's face. "I'm sorry... I... didn't get... you home.... Wish..." He stopped as another fit of coughing overtook him and more crimson fluid spilled from his mouth. 

"Don't speak, grandpa," the demi-saiyan pleaded. "Here. Just eat this." He tried to put the bean into Bardock's mouth, but Bardock shook his head. 

"I'm not... that hungry... anymore," he chuckled weakly. "But thank you. Thank you... Goten... glad... I met you." Breathing shallowly, he closed his eyes, still smiling as his hand fell limply to his side. 

"No, grandpa! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Goten screamed, shoving the senzu bean into Bardock's mouth, sobbing uncontrollably. "NOOOOOO!!!" 

~*~

Goten's scream of pure grief shattered the air, startling Trunks. Vegeta smirked as Trunks let his guard down briefly, distracted by the noise. His fist plowed into the younger boy's jaw and knocked him back several feet. Trunks's eyes flashed in annoyance and he landed briefly on the ground, using the rebound to launch himself back at the younger version of his father. Faster than Vegeta could follow, the lavender haired child grabbed the prince in a headlock too strong for Vegeta to even hope to break. The arrogant prince struggled vainly against his captor's grip. Trunks would have none of it. He fisted one hand and brought it down sharply against Vegeta's temple. The chibi prince instantly went limp. 

"Listen here, " Trunks glared angrily at the four supposed guards. "If you four don't get lost right now, I'll kill the prince! Go back and tell whoever would be in charge now that if you guys keep chasing us, Vegeta's as good as dead!" It was a bluff, of course. He would never kill his own father. But they didn't know that. Trunks resisted the urge to look anxiously at the cave. Something was wrong. He couldn't feel Bardock's ki anymore and Goten's ragged screams were still going strong. He needed to get rid of these idiots now! Charging up a lethal ball of ki, he held it dangerously close to Vegeta's head. "What are you morons just standing there for?" he shouted, sounding uncannily like Vegeta at that moment. "Get outta here before I blast his head off!" 

The increase in ki was enough to blow the scouter of one of the Saiyans who had accidentally left it on, informing the guards that this was no ordinary boy. And this boy held their prince hostage, threatening to kill him unless they cooperated. Growling, all four reluctantly took to the skies. 

Not wasting another second, Trunks zipped into the cave and dropped Vegeta unceremoniously onto the floor. Goten was still screaming wordlessly, his face buried in Bardock's chest, his hands gripping the folds of his grandfather's sea green shirt. Bardock himself lay unmoving, no rise and fall of his chest, no coughing, no ki. To all senses he appeared to be dead. The demi-saiyan vision became blurry and he tried to blink away the tears. Slowly, he walked up behind Goten and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. Goten ignored him, cries still coming from his raw throat. Trunks felt so helpless. He could do nothing to ease the pain his friend was suffering, nothing besides stay at Goten's side and offer silent support. 

A few minutes later, Goten's screams had subsided to heartbroken sobs. Trunks sat next to the still unconscious Vegeta, trying to come to terms with Bardock's death. Outside, the sky began to darken slightly, signaling the coming of night. 

~*~

_Somewhere off in space..._

A fifteen year old boy frowned as he sat down in a clearing. Everything around him was still as death. An ominous sense of foreboding filled the air as even the insects quieted. Something was not right, but he didn't know _what_. He was currently in the middle of clearing a planet with perhaps half the population destroyed and the other half cowering in fear. But it wasn't the mission that was going wrong. It was something more distant... and yet closer than anything else. The boy shivered, and not from cold. 

Searching his troubled mind, he tried to pinpoint the source of his disquiet. It wasn't the mission. It wasn't his ship. It wasn't the planet. What _was_ it? Shaking his head, he ran his fingers through his wild, spiky mane of hair that fell to his knees. He had inherited his hair from his mother, though he had his father's face. 

His father.... 

Radditz frowned as he thought of his father. That was the source of his unease. Was something wrong with his father? That was ridiculous. Not the thought that something might be wrong with Bardock, but, rather, the thought that he would somehow _know_ if something was wrong with him. 

Nonetheless, the teenage Saiyan could not shake the feeling that he was needed back at home. Despite the fact that his mission was still incomplete, Radditz headed back to his ship. He could always come back and finish the job later. Somehow, he knew that whatever was wrong at home, it couldn't wait. If he left for Vegeta-sei now, he might be able to get there by noon of the next day on Vegeta-sei. He hoped that would be soon enough. 

~*~

*evil laughter* I am sooo sooo soooo evil! NONE of my cliff hangers so far have been as bad as this one! MWAHAHA!!! Review and tell me how cruel I am! *Vegeta-smirk* 

Sandy02- Nappa's supposed to have hair at this point in time?! O.o If that's true, then... *hastily grabs Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM)* *reaches inside and grabs a random excuse* And the excuse for me to be able to ignore this little detail is.... 'the author is too ignorant to have known this and too lazy to do anything about it now'..... HEY! *scowls at the Magic Bag* You're not supposed to be _that_ truthful! *looks around* Er... was I just talking to a magic bag? Eh heh... *sweatdrops* Just ignore me. I'm not totally sane. ^_^ 

Kassygirl- You wanna know how I can write chapters so quickly while other authors take ages to post? I don't presume to guess why other authors can take a long time to post (reasons vary with the author), but the answer to how I can post so quickly is this: I have no life worth mentioning. I don't go to school and I don't (currently) have a job. I have one Real Life friend (Kat, the one who is trying to steal Gohan from me *scowls*) that I see on a 'regular' basis (Saturdays). So I usually have plenty of time to write. Besides all that, I'm a good writer, and once I actually sit down to write, it usually only takes me a few hours (time varies from chapter to chapter) to write one of these chapters. And the biggest factor in me writing quickly is that I _like_ writing this story and I'm just as eager as any of you to see how it turns out. ^_^ 

Let me clarify one thing about my mailing list. Unless you actually state in the e-mail or review that you want me to add you to my mailing list, AND give your e-mail address, I will not add you! 

Once again, if you come across any GOOD Bardock stories, please tell me! 

If you have asked me to read/review a story of yours, let me warn you right now that I may very well not! I am _extremely_ picky about what I read! I have a major obsession with correct spelling/grammar/punctuation/capitalization/etc. (even proper use of slang!!! Yes! There are correct forms for using slang!) and if I have too hard a time reading the story, I stop. I am also picky about the plot of the story and how well written it is. Again, if I look into it and find that it is poorly written (in whatever sense of the phrase) I will immediately stop reading without even bothering to review. Sorry, that's just the way I am. (This does not meant that I won't read anything that doesn't meet the same standards as my own story. If I did that, I'd have very little to read on fanfiction.net.) But just because I don't review, doesn't necessarily mean your story isn't good. As I said, I'm just really picky about what I read. 

On another note, if I _do_ review your story, you can take that as encouragement. Even better is if I advertise it on my story. Only the stories I deem are the best get advertised here. 

Speaking of good stories... 

**_Story Advertising_**

If you like Goten and Trunks in time-travelling adventures, read the stories by ladymoonlight: 'Trunks and Goten's Excellent Adventure', 'Happy Birthday Trunks', and 'Trunks and Goten's Bogus Adventure' are three well written stories all about the adventures that our two troublemakers have as they use/misuse Bulma's newest invention - a machine that allows you to travel to different realities/times. No Bardock, but it's still a good read. ^_^ 

Well, that's all for this chapter! HAHAHA! I'm so evil! See you all next chapter! Please review. And go easy on the flames. ^_^ 


	14. Tears Of A Child

*looks at the flames she got* *pulls out a stick and bag of marshmallows* Mmm... time to toast marshmallows! 

Chibi Trunks: *baps Brenda on the head* Baka! They aren't _that_ kind of flame! 

Brenda: *gives Trunks the famous Son Puppy Eyes (TM)* But I wanna toast marshmallows! 

Mirai Trunks: Here, let me help! *ki-blasts Brenda's marshmallows* Er... oops... guess I overdid it. Heh. 

Brenda: *rolls her eyes* Saiyans. 

Disclaimer: Currently, the only thing I own is a bag of charred marshmallows. I don't own DBZ. Anyone wanna trade me for rights to DBZ? 

Chibi Goten: No, but I'll take the marshmallows! 

Brenda: *sighs* Sure, here ya go. *tosses the blackened puffs of sugar to Goten* 

Goten: Yay! You're the greatest! *munches on the carbonized sugar, sharing the bag with Chibi Trunks* 

**

Wish For The Past

**   
(Tears Of A Child) 

Tears. Tears on his face. Not his own. Whose tears were they? Someone was crying, calling out something that he could barely make out. A small, warm hand on his chest, shaking him. Whose hand was it? 

"Grandpa? It's me. Goten. Grandpa, I have something for you." 

_Goten. I remember now. Child of my son. You're not supposed to exist yet. But you're here. Why are you crying? Oh. It's because I'm dying, isn't it. You don't need to cry. It doesn't hurt anymore._ He opened his eyes so he could look at his grandson. The little face that looked so much like his own was so sad. Tears were coursing their way down his cheeks to fall lightly onto Bardock's face. _You shouldn't cry, Goten. Tears are not for you. I'm glad you're here, at my side. I don't have much longer, I know, and if there were anyone I would like to have at my side when I die, it's you._ Smiling faintly, he reached out to wipe the tears from Goten's face. "I'm sorry... I... didn't get... you home.... Wish..." _Wish I could be there for you, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. I really am sorry that I can't keep my promise to you, Goten. Promised you I would get you back home. I can only hope that you manage to find a way home without my help._ Coughing, he spit up more blood. _Really messed myself up this time. Bone shard in my lung. What a way to die._

Goten was speaking again. _What's he saying? It's getting harder to hear. Getting darker, too, but maybe it's just night time._ "....speak, grandpa," his grandson was saying. "Here. Just eat this." _Does he still think that I'm just hungry? That food will make me better? I'm sorry, child, but I don't think there's any food out there that can help me now._ He shook his head, refusing whatever it was that his grandson was trying to give him. _Only have a few more moments. Want to spend the time talking to you, not chewing on food._ "I'm not... that hungry... anymore," he chuckled weakly. _Well, maybe I _am_ a little hungry, but food is hardly the most important thing right now._ "But thank you. Thank you... Goten... glad... I met you." _Maybe we'll see each other again someday, though I hope for your sake that that day is a long time in coming. I guess it's time now. I can barely see, so I might as well close my eyes. Toma, Celipa, Panboukin, Totepo... Sereri.... Soon I'll see all of you again. Wish it didn't have to be so soon. Would have liked to spend more time with Goten._ His hand fell away from Goten's face. 

Goten was screaming now, screaming his lungs out. "No, grandpa! DON'T LEAVE ME!" _He's putting something in my mouth. Can't taste it, maybe because it has no taste, or maybe because I'm dying and just can't taste anything. All I know is that it's small and hard. Don't know that I have the strength even to bite into it. But it's the last thing you'll ever give me, isn't it. It seems so important to you. You're my grandson, and I... yes, I love you, little Goten. I'll eat it, for you._ "NOOOOOO!!!" 

Goten's anguished cries covered the tiny sound of something hard cracking. 

~*~

Goten had fallen asleep, still burying his face into Bardock's chest. His grief had exhausted him completely, though even in his sleep, tears still trickled from his closed eyes. Trunks sat with his arms folded across his knees, watching over his chibi friend. Guilt clawed at his heart. If only he'd remembered the senzu beans earlier. If only he'd made Bardock let them carry him. If only they had gone Super Saiyan in order to get there faster. If only.... 

There was so many things he felt he could have done to prevent what had happened. Sighing, he noticed that Vegeta was stirring. He hadn't hit him that hard, really. Just hard enough to knock him out. Guess now he had to deal with his royal-pain-in-the-rear. It was comforting to know that if Vegeta got on his nerves too much, he could always just knock him out again. He'd have to be careful not to do that too much, though. Didn't want to give his father brain damage or anything. 

Vegeta groaned as he rolled over onto his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. It took several moments before he recalled what had happened. The boy with the purple hair had challenged him, refusing to answer his questions. Then he had called him... Veggie-chan. The mere thought of the insulting name shot bolts of anger through the prince's mind and he sat up straight, glaring around the room until he found the gaki in question. Trunks was sitting a few feet from him, staring at him calmly. 

"If you attack me or Goten, I will knock you out again," the younger boy stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. 

His jaw clenching with suppressed rage, the Saiyan boy nodded once, indicating that he understood. His brief encounter with Trunks had left him with the information that Trunks was quite capable of carrying out his threat, and that Vegeta would not be able to do anything to stop him. Vegeta shivered. First Goten, now Trunks. Two children, both younger than him, who could easily overpower him, and probably every other Saiya-jin on the planet. How? 

He tore his gaze off of Trunks, looking instead at Goten and Bardock. Bardock lay still, blood staining the ground and his shirt, and the little look-alike was sleeping half on top of him, his face turned away from Vegeta. Vegeta mentally congratulated himself on being right when he had guessed that Bardock had been wounded. He wisely kept this comment to himself. His captor didn't appear to be in a very good mood. 

"So what do you intend to do with me?" he asked, not looking at Trunks. 

Stretching lazily, the purple haired Saiyan gave Vegeta a hard look. "In a way, it's kinda your fault Bardock's dead, since you're the one who sent that guy after us," he said bitterly. "Maybe I should kill you." Trunks wouldn't actually kill Vegeta, but he wanted to see his chibi father's reaction to this statement. Besides, killing Vegeta would not bring Bardock back and would prevent Trunks from ever having a chance of being born in this timeline. With Vegeta-sei undestroyed, the chances of that were already slim-to-none. No need to eliminate them entirely. 

The reaction he got was not the one he was expecting. Vegeta's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he looked at the still form of the older warrior. "You think he's dead?" he spluttered, nearly bursting with laughter. "Baka gaki! Are you blind or something? Any fool who bothered to look at that lowly third-class could tell he's still alive!" 

Time almost seemed to stop for Trunks as he absorbed this information, looking as though he'd just been hit by a ton of bricks. Or a strong ki blast. He jerked to his feet and stumbled over to where Bardock and Goten lay, falling to his knees as he looked at Bardock's face in disbelief. 

The little cuts and scrapes that he'd earned from his fight with Nappa were gone. Blood still covered his mouth and trailed down his cheek, but it was old blood. No new blood was joining it. And he was breathing. Slowly, yes, but it was the kind of breathing done while one is sleeping, not the shallow gasps he'd been taking a short time ago. Trunks reached out to touch the man's face and found that it was warm and soft, not cold and stiff. 

"He's alive," he whispered, hardly daring to voice the fact in case it was a dream. The dream remained reality and Trunks leapt up and shouted, grinning from ear to ear as tears of joy sprang to his eyes. "He's alive!!!" 

To the prince's surprise and annoyance, Trunks grabbed him up and gave him a hug so strong it nearly cracked some of his ribs. The boy let go, his eyes shining, grinning like an idiot. "Yes, and now that you've told the whole world, perhaps you'd like to go tell the rest of the universe," the young prince growled sarcastically. How dare he! How dare he touch the Saiya-jin no Ouji! How dare he _hug_ the royal heir to the throne! 

Trunks ignored him. He was busy chattering to himself. "Goten must have given Bardock the senzu bean and it just took Bardock a little bit to bite and swallow it! And I guess he was too distracted to notice that his grandfather's ki hadn't disappeared. Ha! I stopped trying to sense his ki when it got too low for me to feel, so I didn't notice it when it came back! Now that I'm looking, I'm surprised I didn't feel it sooner, even if I wasn't paying attention." 

"What the hell are you talking about, boy?" Vegeta muttered angrily. He didn't understand most of what Trunks had been saying, but he had caught one thing. "I thought that brat was the _son_ of that third-class lowlife. Bardock doesn't even look old enough to _have_ grandchildren!" 

That stopped Trunks in his tracks. Scowling, he mentally pulled up some of his father's favorite curses, the kind that made Bulma threaten to make Vegeta sleep on a couch if he ever used them again, and applied them to himself. He'd accidentally referred to Bardock as Goten's grandfather. How would he explain that to the suspicious prince? He paused in his frantic search for plausible lies when he heard Vegeta gasp. 

Vegeta was staring at Trunks, his mouth hanging open slightly and his eyes wide with shock. When Trunks had scowled after the prince had asked his question, Vegeta suddenly realized where he felt he knew Trunks from. With his purple eyebrows scrunched down and his mouth set in a firm frown, his face perfectly matched what the black haired Saiya-jin saw every day... in the mirror. 

"You're me!" he exclaimed. The boy was about to say something, but Vegeta cut him off. "I don't know how it's possible, but I recognize your face now. It's _my_ face!" 

Trunks snorted in derision. "And you call _me_ an idiot? Good grief. Listen to yourself, baka! How can I be you? I have purple hair and I'm younger than you and I'm stronger than you ever were." _Though maybe not as strong as you'll be when you grow up,_ Trunks added silently. 

The logic of what Trunks had said penetrated the shock-induced stupor the prince found himself in. He mentally shook himself, blinking, and focused on the other boy's hair. "Speaking of your hair, how in hell did you get _purple_ hair? And why is it so... limp?" Curiosity pushed aside any fear or anger he had at the moment, as well as causing him to dismiss the reference to his relative weakness. He reached out a hand to touch the strange locks. Trunks just stood there awkwardly, a faint flush of embarrassment tingeing his cheeks pink. 

"I get my hair from my mom," he muttered, smiling faintly. "Dad thinks it looks silly, too." 

"Who is your father?" Vegeta asked, withdrawing his hand and sitting down on the cold stone floor. 

Silence. Then, "I'd rather not say." 

Smiling triumphantly, the prince leaned back against the wall. "You're related to me somehow, aren't you? I can tell. Your face looks too much like mine to be coincidence, and I've been having this feeling that I know you ever since I first saw you. Come on, you can tell me." 

That earned him a rather strange look from Trunks. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Trust me." 

"You can't be a cousin, since my father never had any siblings, and neither did my mother," Vegeta speculated out loud. "Wait! I know! My father mated with another female and produced you! You don't want me to feel bad about my father, so you're trying to hide the fact that your his bastard son. Am I right?" He looked at Trunks expectantly, hoping to catch a glimpse of some sign that indicated he'd guessed the boy's true heritage. The boy's face remained carefully blank. Vegeta took this as an affirmative and smirked in satisfaction. "I thought so. Well, you don't need to worry about my feelings about my father. He can do whatever he wants when he's in bed, as far as I'm concerned." The chibi prince hid his surprise that his father _would_ bed another woman besides his now-dead mother. It just didn't seem like him. But there was no other explanation for Trunks's relationship to the royal bloodline. 

A choking sound brought him out of this line of thought. Vegeta glanced at Trunks and found that the kid appeared to be torn between laughing and dying of mortification. "I'm not a bastard, Vegeta. And your father is most definitely _not_ my father!" 

"Well, then, who _is_ your father?" Vegeta growled irritably. 

"For your information, you-" Trunks hastily shut his mouth with an audible click. 

_Damn. Nearly got it out of him._

~*~

_Ba-bump.... ba-bump... ba-bump..._

A heartbeat? 

_Ba-bump...._

Warmth on top of him. Small hands clutching him tightly. 

_Ba-bump...._

No pain. Where was the pain? 

_Ba-bump...._

Blackness. No. Wait. He had his eyes closed. Slowly, he opened them, amazed that he was able to do even that small act. Was he alive? Or was this the afterlife? Looking around, he found himself exactly where he had been when he had closed his eyes. Goten remained on top of him, tear tracks visible on his dusty cheeks. Asleep. Bardock let his eyes drift around the room, settling on the arguing prince and demi-saiyan. 

"Trunks?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice. When had the Prince of the Saiyans joined them? 

Both boys jumped, startled, and whipped their heads around to look at Bardock. "Bardock-san!" Trunks chirped happily, grinning in a way that reminded Bardock of Goten. "You're awake!" Beside him, Vegeta muttered something about Trunks stating the obvious a lot today. 

"I am," Bardock agreed, a puzzled look on his face. "How? How can I still be alive?" Looking again at Goten, he shifted the boy so he could sit up, cradling his grandson in his arms. Goten remained asleep, murmuring something indecipherable. 

"Senzu bean," Trunks grinned, holding up his other bean for Bardock to see. Vegeta edged forwards a bit so he could take a closer look. The bean was rather unremarkable, just a hard, pale brown lump. "Senzu beans have the ability to heal almost anything and bring your power level up to full." He tucked the bean carefully away into his pocket. "I forgot that I had them, or I would have given you one earlier. I gave one to Goten and he gave it to you right before you nearly died. In fact, we thought you _had_ died. I was afraid Goten would lose it when it looked like you'd died." 

Bardock allowed a moment to absorb this. A bean with that kind of power was... unlikely, to say the least. But there was no other explanation for how he had suddenly and miraculously been healed. He focused on Vegeta. "When did Vegeta-ouji join us?" he asked carefully. 

"Oh, I kidnapped him and threatened to kill him if everyone kept chasing us," Trunks answered lightly, a faint smirk on his lips. 

Still disoriented from nearly dying and then waking up to find that he hadn't, the Saiyan muttered the first thing that came to his mind. "But isn't Vegeta your father? If you killed him, then you'd never be born." 

Trunks slapped a hand to his forehead and groaned. _Damn it, Bardock! And I've been trying all evening to keep Vegeta from finding that little detail out!_ Sighing, and leaned against a wall. No help for it now. "He is," he said simply, ignoring the bug-eyed stare he was getting from chibi-Vegeta. "But his guards didn't know that. The bluff worked, so now we'll be able to get off this planet without any problem." 

"Are you both insane?!" Vegeta yelled. "I don't have a son! I've never even had _sex_!" 

Bardock frowned as he realized that he'd just blurted out a secret that was probably better off unspoken. Trunks sighed again and rubbed his forehead as though he had a headache. "It can't really get worse, now. Might as well tell him the rest," he grumbled. Turning to look Vegeta in the eye, his face serious, he continued, "Goten and I are from the future. Goten is really Bardock's grandson, not his son. And I'm your son. Goten came to the past by accident, and I followed him to bring him back to our present, or your future. Only I guess it's not your future, anymore, since history's been altered, making this a different timeline than the one that created our time." Bardock noted that the demi-saiyan carefully left out any part that mentioned who his mother was, where the two boys had been born, and any mention of just how they had come to the past, and how they planned on returning to the future. He smiled amusedly, thinking that Vegeta probably didn't notice the evasions because of the absurdness of what _had_ been said. 

Clutching Goten to his chest, Bardock leaned back and closed his eyes. He had his grandson and a second chance at life. He would be able to help him get home after all. And he would be able to spend more time with him. He smiled. It was good to be alive. 

~*~

That was odd. The feeling of impending doom had vanished after only a few hours through the journey home. Radditz still had no idea what had caused the feeling, but it was gone now. Troubled, he decided to remain on the same course, determined to find out what had happened to make him feel as though disaster were looming on the horizon, and how that disaster had been prevented. 

"Father, what the hell is going on over there?" he muttered, settling back into his cushioned chair, mentally preparing himself for the long ride home. 

~*~

I bet you're all saying right now 'Ha! I knew she wouldn't kill Bardock!' Actually, I almost _did_ kill Bardock. Not permanently (what would have happened to my next Bardock fic!?), since I would have brought him back. Unfortunately, something that I have planned for later in the story reared its ugly head and told me in no uncertain terms that if I killed Bardock, I wouldn't be able to bring him back. Can't go into details, since that would just reveal other evil things... er... I mean other events I have planned for the story. ^_^ 

Er... Baka-sama... sorry to disappoint you, but it'll be another chapter or two before Radditz has any major scenes. There's gonna be a lot happening in the near future, so it'll take a while to get back to him. That little scene was just my way of introducing him to the story and get him started towards the place he needs to be for when he _does_ have more scenes. 

I hope this chapter made up for the evilness of the last one. I can't help myself. I love a little drama. ^_^ If you read my stories, you should expect a dramatic or sappy or whatever type scene. *grins* I was very, very tempted to make the last chapter more than just aggravating... I was tempted to go all out and make it a true tear jerker, but I didn't want to spend a long time writing it. I can do that kind of thing, y'know, making the readers express the emotions I want them to... but it takes a loooong time to write. And I wasn't feeling patient. ^_^ 

Please review! 


	15. Wakeup Call

Yatta! I'm home! *grins inanely* Back to my own computer which, while it's slower than molasses, at least has a composer so I don't have to do the HTML by hand anymore! Woo hoo! 

Actually, Baka-sama, your review was one of the ones I enjoyed most. It gives me great sadistic pleasure to know I was so successful at being evil in that chapter, since that was what I was going for. Not to mention that I seem to take a great delight in torturing my readers as much as my characters.... I'm so mean. ^_^ As for future romance fics... Yes, I'll _probably_ write a romance about one (or more) of the three Saiyans (Bardock, Radditz, or Vegeta) but that's a long time in coming, because this story still has a LOT left in it. 

Disclaimer: If I owned DBZ, I'd make this story into a special. A _long_ special (not limited to just 1 hour or less, like most of the specials). Better yet, I'd make it into its own Saga! Then I'd sell it on video/DVD. No commercials. No crappy translations. No censoring out the blood! MWAHAHA! Wouldn't that be neat? But I don't own DBZ *sigh* so you all just have to use your imaginations as you read. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Wake-up Call) 

At that moment, the only things Goten felt were peace and safety. And warmth. Someone's warm, strong arms were wrapped around him. They felt familiar, but he couldn't figure out whose they were. They couldn't be his dad's, because his dad was in the future. They couldn't be grandpa's, because grandpa was.... 

The peace and safety he'd felt vanished like a pricked bubble and he started to cry again. Grandpa was dead. Taking advantage of the comfort that the person holding him was offering, he buried his face into the other's shirt and sobbed. In response, the man hugged Goten even more closely, one hand stroking his spiky black hair soothingly. 

"Shhh... it's all right, Goten-chan," the man murmured softly. The voice was so warm, so... familiar. Why was it familiar? Goten opened his eyes. 

The first thing he saw was green. Sea green. The same green as his gi. The same green as the shirt Bardock wore. Goten's numb mind couldn't comprehend what this meant, so he slowly lifted his eyes. Blood. There was blood on the shirt. Some of it was dried and brown, some of it was sticky and red. Not fresh blood, but new enough that it hadn't had time to dry completely. Maybe the man was hurt, or maybe he'd been in a fight and someone else's blood had gotten on him. Seeing the blood on the sea green shirt tickled something in the back of Goten's mind, but the boy couldn't grasp it. Every time he tried to catch the thought, it slipped away like smoke through his fingers. He still didn't know who the man was, and he would find no answers in the blood on his shirt. He tilted his head to look at the man's face. 

Breathing suddenly became difficult as his throat constricted. His heart rate increased and his eyes dilated to tiny points. Then the invisible force that had his throat in its grasp eased up and he found that he was breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating. He knew that face. Those strong, angular features, the black eyes, the spiky hair. Only three people looked like that. Himself, his father, and.... his grandpa. The scar on the face told him that the person he was looking at could only be Bardock. But grandpa was dead. He'd felt the life leave him, had seen his eyes close, watched as he stopped breathing, heard the heart inside him still its beating. 

Had it only been his imagination? Could it possibly be true? 

The face smiled and Goten realized that he was trembling. His vision became blurry, then cleared slightly as tears fell from his eyes. He tried to say something, but nothing came out. 

"Hello, Goten," Bardock said, ruffling Goten's hair. 

Feeling as though his heart was about to burst inside of him, the chibi gave a strangled cry that sounded like an odd mix between a laugh and a sob. He reached up to touch the scar on Bardock's face as though he couldn't believe his eyes. Bardock's smile only widened. It was then that Goten finally realized that it wasn't a dream, that his grandfather really was alive and smiling down at him. He wasn't dead. He. Wasn't. Dead! 

"GRANDPA!!!" 

The tears came freely, now, but they were a different kind of tears than the ones he had been shedding earlier. He wrapped his arms around his grandfather's neck and hugged him fiercely, sobbing in relief and joy, now, instead of grief. "Grandpa, you're alive. You're _alive_!!!" 

"Erk... Goten... you're choking me," Bardock gasped, turning slightly blue in the face. 

Goten sheepishly loosened his hold on the warrior's neck, but grinned as he wiped the tears from his eyes with one hand. "Grandpa, I thought you'd _died_!" 

"So did I," Bardock chuckled ruefully. "But those senzu beans really work wonders, don't they, Goten-chan?" 

"Hai!" Goten laughed. He looked around the cave, which was lit by a small camp fire. Outside the cave it was pitch black, though that might have been because the roaring waters of the waterfall outside hid any starlight that might have been shining down from the sky. There was no sign of Trunks. "Grandpa, where's Trunks?" 

"He and Vegeta went outside to... discuss some things. I told them they couldn't make a lot of noise inside the cave because you were asleep." 

"Oh." The chibi-Saiyan paused, then looked back up at Bardock. "When did Vegeta join us? Last I saw, he was gonna fight Trunks." 

Trying hard, and failing, to keep a straight face, Bardock replied, "That's probably still true." 

~*~ 

Stars speckled the night sky like diamonds on a black satin backdrop. In the east, a small sliver of the moon was visible, shining faintly silver and blue. A whisper of a breeze stirred the air, which had cooled considerably since the sun had gone down. Night birds and insects chirped and buzzed to each other while nocturnal predators hunted their prey with speed and stealth. Nearby, a waterfall cascaded over a cliff to crash onto the rocks below. 

The serenity of the scene had no effect on two creatures who stood a short distance from the entrance to the cave where Bardock and Goten were. Trunks's face was the picture of exasperation, while Vegeta only looked pissed off. 

"You're lying," he growled, his tail lashing back and forth behind him. "I refuse to believe that you are some half Saiya-jin, half..." he paused here because Trunks hadn't told him what race his mother was, "half whatever-you-are child from the future, who just happens to be _my_ son!" 

"Why would I lie to you, baka?!" Trunks yelled angrily. "I have nothing to gain by it! I certainly don't want to train under you or anything like that. And I don't wanna usurp your throne, either! If I _am_ from the future, like I say I am, and I _am_ trying to get back home, then it wouldn't even be in my interest to _pretend_ to be your son, now would it? Besides, if you hadn't noticed, I tried _not_ to tell you who I was!" 

Vegeta fumed. _Kuso, he makes too much sense. But it _can't_ be true! It just... can't!_

Sighing in annoyance, Trunks threw up his hands in a sign of defeat. "Listen, you don't wanna believe me, and I can't make you believe me. I don't _have_ to make you believe me, nor can you make me tell you the so-called 'truth', so there really isn't any point to this conversation. So why don't we just go back into the cave and get some sleep?" Vegeta looked like he was about to protest, but Trunks would have none of it. He was _tired_ of listening to the bratty prince try to deny the truth, tired of arguing with him, tired because, well, it was getting late and he needed sleep. "You don't have a choice in the matter, Vegeta. You can either go back to the cave on your own, or I can knock you out right here. Which is it going to be?" 

Glaring, the little prince angrily stomped off towards the cave, waiting until the last minute before taking to the air. It was much more satisfying to pound the ground than to just glide silently. _How can he be my son? I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji! I would never mate with anyone who wasn't Saiya-jin! Or anyone with hair as ridiculous as Trunks's! And I notice that he's been avoiding telling me how he and Goten supposedly came to the past in the first place. Why is that, I wonder? Two reasons. Either he doesn't want me to be able to use whatever method of time travel they used, or.... he never traveled through time in the first place._

_But if he _didn't_ travel through time, and he _is _trying to trick you, then why wouldn't he just make up some lie about how he was able to travel through time?_ an inner voice in Vegeta's mind argued with him. 

_Maybe because he's too stupid to be able to think up a good lie, _he retorted. 

_If that were true_, the voice said, _then wouldn't he be too stupid to think up these other 'lies' in the first place? And you said it yourself. He makes too much sense._

_Shut up!!_ Vegeta snapped. _Just... shut the hell up!_

Surprisingly, the voice listened to him. But the Prince of all Saiyans was unable to dismiss what it had said. It was a very troubled Vegeta who stalked his way into the cave and sat down in a corner. 

~*~ 

Trunks followed Vegeta back into the cave, his mind lost in thought as he tackled a problem that he'd just discovered. _How am I going to get any sleep tonight with Vegeta here? If we all go to sleep, then what's to stop him from escaping? We _need_ him if we're ever going to get off this planet! Maybe Bardock will know what to do...._

A gurgling from his midsection caught his attention and he decided he would talk to Bardock after they ate dinner. Searching through his pocket, he pulled out one of the capsules with food from his mom's pantry. "You guys hungry?" he asked, looking in Bardock and Goten's direction. 

"Yay! Food! I'm starving!" Goten chirped happily. Bardock simply smiled. It amused Trunks that, even as the two stood up and Bardock set Goten on the ground, they maintained physical contact by holding hands, as though they were afraid to let go. He supposed he'd act that way, too, if someone close to him had nearly died, only to be saved at the last second. It was still funny, though. 

"I don't see any food," Vegeta grumbled from where he sat. "Where are you going to get it from? Pull it out of thin air?" The sarcasm in his voice was sharp enough to cut steel. He, too, was hungry, and he didn't appreciate being teased like this. 

"Something like that," Trunks said, smirking in a very Vegeta-esque manner. He pressed the button on the capsule he had chosen and tossed it onto the table. It was only after the capsule had finished decaspulizing the food that he realized he probably should have thrown it to the ground. There was so much food within the capsule that it spilled off the table and onto the floor around it. "Oops." 

Bardock and Goten immediately launched themselves at the food, letting their hands go so they could use both hands to eat. Vegeta just stared open mouthed, glancing from the food to Trunks and back again. _Where did all that come from? He pulled something out of his pocket and when he threw it down, all that food appeared. But I've never even heard of any technology such as this! What if... what if he _is_ telling the truth and he _is_ from the future?_

"Hey, Vegeta," Trunks called, interrupting the prince's thoughts. "You might wanna eat before it's all gone." He, too, sat down to attack the food and satiate his hunger. 

After another moment of gawking, the chibi-prince sat down and started eating mechanically. His thoughts were still trying to cope with this startling revelation. He ate without looking at what he was eating... that is, until he came across _it_. 

The substance was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Semi-transparent red, it was held within a bowl and almost seemed... alive. It quivered whenever the rock table was jostled, looking like it was trying to escape the confines of its prison. Vegeta stared at it in fascination. Hesitantly, he reached out and poked it with a finger. The stuff jiggled and bounced back, causing the ten year old to jump in alarm. Was it trying to _attack_ him?! He jabbed it again, determined not to let the creature win. Instead of bouncing back, the 'creature' gave way, letting his finger slip into the soft, slick stuff it was made up of. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what was happening. He'd heard of creatures that could do this. It was trying to absorb him into its body! 

"Yaaaah!!!!" he screamed in alarm, yanking his hand away from the thing. His other hand formed a ki blast which he quickly launched at the deadly creature. The red mass exploded, sending bits of itself all over Vegeta and the others - though mostly on Vegeta, since he was closest. The prince screamed again, thinking this was another form of attack. It had divided itself into smaller replicas of its original form, harder to target and destroy, and now it was going to absorb him! He started swatting the jelly-like creatures off him, hoping that he could kill them all before it was too late. This only made things worse. Instead of falling off him like most creatures would when swatted, the jelly-creature only smeared itself all over Vegeta, staining his arms and clothes red. _It's sucking my blood!!!_

He looked desperately at the others, hoping that maybe they could do something to defeat the monster that had been hiding in the food. All three were staring at him as though he were insane, and Goten was beginning to giggle hysterically. "What the hell is so funny?!" Vegeta roared, angered by their reaction. 

"Hee hee Vegeta hahaha it's just hehe jello! Why are you hahaha attacking it?" Goten managed to say through his laughter. Trunks, too, was grinning ear to ear, while a smile was tugging at the corners of Bardock's lips. Bardock had already encountered the jello, but he hadn't reacted like _this_! 

"It's a monster that's trying to absorb me and suck my blood!" the distressed prince yelled. How could they take this deadly monster so lightly?! 

Trunks burst out laughing at this statement. "HAHA!! It's only _jello_, Vegeta! It's not alive! My mom makes this stuff all the time. It's one of the few things she knows how to make without messing up." Grinning, he reached out and wiped a small blob off of Vegeta's arm and stuck it in his mouth. "Mmm... cherry. My favorite!" 

Hesitantly, Vegeta licked a finger that still had some of the stuff on it. He didn't recognize the flavor. Cherry, did he say? It actually tasted rather good, even after being ki-blasted. Flushing with embarrassment, he sat back down, refusing to look up until he had finished eating. _I thought it was alive! I thought it was a dangerous animal when it was only a type of food! I think I'm going to die of embarrassment. That was no way for the Saiya-jin no Ouji to behave!_

Remaining silent the rest of the evening, he was able to overhear the conversation between Trunks and Bardock. They were discussing how they would prevent Vegeta from trying to escape during the night. The prince snorted. He held no illusions about being able to get away during the night. In a way, he almost wanted to stay with the trio of Saiyans. To find out for certain if they were really telling the truth or not. And to find out what else they were hiding. There was more to their time traveling story than they let on, of _that_ he was certain. 

In the end, it was decided that Bardock and Trunks would take turns keeping watch on Vegeta. Goten wasn't even considered, because they _both_ knew that he wouldn't be able to keep himself awake. Vegeta just lay back and closed his eyes. Somehow, he knew that he would be needing the energy in the morning. Goten once again was using Bardock as a pillow, with Bardock's arms wrapped protectively around him. Trunks remained awake, vigilantly watching over the others and feeding the fire. In a few hours he would wake Bardock up. In the meantime, everyone else fell asleep, dreaming of the days to come. 

~*~ 

Haha! The jello incident came as a sudden inspiration just as I was writing this fic. I don't consider myself a humor fic author and, indeed, envy those authors who are capable of writing truly hilarious humor fictions. But when this idea came to me, I just had to take it! *grins* Poor Vegeta! 

No, I have _not_ forgotten Bulma, Goku, and the others. I have purposefully left them as is for two reasons. One is that this story centers around Bardock, Goten, and Trunks. Without Trunks in the present time, there is no reason to write about the present time. Two: I really have nothing to say about Goku, Bulma, Chi-Chi, and whoever all else is there. All they're doing is worrying about Goten and Trunks, since they have no clue where either is, and that would be rather boring to write about for the next who-knows-how-many chapters. Don't expect to see anything about the present time line until I'm about to send those concerned back into the future/present. 

((This does not apply to my fanfiction.net readers.)) *starts glaring at the people who are reading this from Sign of the Senshi* I _know _you're out there. Kat's told me that she's made some of her friends read it. Why haven't I gotten any reviews from you people? *pokes the silent readers* If you're just shy and don't wanna e-mail me personally, there's good news. Kat made a separate section in the forum for you to post reviews for this story. Now go there and review! 

That's it for this chapter! Next time things will _really_ start to heat up! *grins* That's all I'm gonna say. Don't wanna spoil anything. *winks* 

Please review! 


	16. 200 Review Special

Ossu! Welcome to the Wish For The Past 200 Review Special! In honor of getting 200 reviews for the story, I, your host and author, Brenda, am creating a special. In this special, we will be hearing from all of the characters (or most of them) about things they think about the story. At least, that's what's _supposed_ to happen. You never can tell what will happen when you gather this many DBZ characters into one place at one time. *grins* 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I don't own most of the characters here. I no longer even own that bag of charred marshmallows. I don't even own my soul anymore! I sold it for some cheap candy! Nor do I own my sanity. Traded it for a bag of acorns. Hee hee! 

That said, on with the show! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(200 Review Special) 

Brenda opens the door and a bunch of people crowd into the room, chattering like a flock of magpies. They don't seem to see her there, and so the poor author gets trampled into the ground. 

Brenda: ARGH! Hey! Watch where you're going! 

Mirai Vegeta: *growls* Watch where you're standing, onna! 

Brenda: *angrily shoves her nose into Vegeta's face* Watch it, Veggie-chan. I'm the author, so unless you wanna end up in a pink bunny costume shouting out "You are much stronger than I'll ever be, Mr. Satan! Please let me become your student so I can learn how to become a strong fighter like you!" then I suggest you treat me with more respect! 

Mirai Vegeta: *pales* You wouldn't. 

Brenda: I would! And to top it all off, I'd make sure Goku was there, watching you! 

Mirai Vegeta: Yaaaaah!!!! *runs away screaming at the thought* 

Brenda: *Vegeta-smirks* That took care of him. 

Bardock: Hey, Brenda, I have a question. 

Brenda: Yeah, sure, Bardock. What can I do for you? 

Bardock: *thinks* _.... better not say that in public..._ *says* Well, it's about the first two chapters of Wish For The Past. I thought that there were two armies fighting in the air when Frieza destroyed the planet. What happened to them? 

Brenda: *sweatdrops* Er... umm... *grabs her Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM)* *reaches in and pulls something out* Okay, the Magic Bag says that in this Alternate Universe, either they were all killed before Frieza threw his Death Ball, or... or they weren't there to begin with. That left only you and Goten still hanging around when Frieza got blown to itty bitty bits. 

Bardock: Ooooh. Thanks! 

Chibi Vegeta: But what about me! I was supposed to be on Frieza's ship when he killed my father! 

Brenda: *looks sidelong at C. Vegeta* Er... same reason. Alternate Universe. You were elsewhere. *yells out to the crowd* And, NO, Frieza's ship was NOT destroyed by Goten! It escaped! That's how King Cold found out about what happened to his son. I thought I explained at least _that_!!! 

Chibi Goten and Chibi Trunks run up and tackle Brenda, laughing. They start spraying Silly String into her hair, then dump glitter all over her. 

Goten: Look! It's a glitter fairy! *dances around* Glitter Fairy, Glitter Fairy, grant me my wish! 

Brenda: AHHHH!!! No! Not glitter! That'll take forever to get out of my hair! WAAAAHH!!! 

Chibi Trunks: Goten, I don't think glitter fairies grant wishes. 

Goten: They don't? *gives his friend the famous Son Puppy Eyes (TM)* 

Brenda: *murderous gleam in her eyes* No, they don't. This glitter fairy will only lock you into a ki-proof, super strong room where you'll have to watch rerun episodes of Barney aaall daaaay looong. *grins evilly* 

Goten and Trunks: *scream in sheer terror and vanish faster than the eye can follow* YAAAAAAAH!!! 

Raisu: *complains for everyone in general to hear* Why didn't I get a bigger part? I'm one of the few characters in the story that Brenda actually owns, and she practically _ignores_ me! 

All the other bit-characters pipe up and add their voices to this complaint. 

Brenda: Well, er... y'see, the story's not about _you_ guys... *glances at Sanail* or whatever you are. 

Sereri: And what's up with our names? Sereri? Raisu? Sanail? What crazed and demented things were you thinking when you made up these names? 

Brenda: *sweatdrops* Well, actually, I was trying to follow in the footsteps of Akira Toriyama. You know he makes puns with all of his names. Sanail is a weird way of saying 'snail', which is what most of the Nameks were named after. Sereri is the Japanese pronunciation of Celery. You're a Saiyan, so you needed a vegetable name. 

Raisu: What about me? Raisu is a play off of 'rice', right? RICE ISN'T A VEGETABLE, YOU IGNORANT AUTHOR! 

Brenda: *pulls the lower lid of her eye and sticks out her tongue* Pbbbt! I don't care. I thought it was a cool name! At least I didn't name you after underwear, like the Briefs' family is! 

Bulma: And what's _that_ supposed to mean?! 

Brenda: *gives Bulma a sidelong look* Oh, yeah, 'Bloomers', I think everyone here would just _love_ to be named after types of underwear! *sarcasm* 

Bulma: *blushes* It's not _my_ fault my dad is a pervert! 

Brenda: But it _is_ your fault that you name your son TRUNKS and your daughter BRA! So what does that make you?! A pervert like your father? 

Bulma: *storms off* I don't have to listen to this! 

Chi-Chi runs up and grabs Brenda by her shirt, pushing her against a wall. 

Chi-Chi: WHERE'S MY BABY BOY!?!?!? What have you done with him, you... you... evil hussy! 

Brenda: *panics* Uh... uh... It's okay, Chi-Chi, I'll bring him back to you really soon! I promise! Now... *gets a pleading look in her eyes* please let me go? 

Chi-Chi: *pulls out her Frying Pan of Doom* You bring him back RIGHT NOW or I'll- 

Brenda: *blinks and interrupts Chi-Chi* How did you get that back? I thought I still had it! 

Chi-Chi: *looks like she's about to blow a gasket* You took my frying pan?! THIEF!! THIEF!! *raises the pan threateningly* 

Brenda: YAAAAH!!! Wait wait wait! I was only using it to defend your son! Gohan! One of my friends was trying to take him away and I used your pan to defend him! That's all! HONEST! *cowers in fear of the frying pan* 

Chi-Chi: *calms down a bit* Oh, well, then, I guess I can forgive you for that... BUT YOU'D BETTER BRING MY GOTEN BACK OR ELSE! 

Brenda: *nods frantically* Okay, okay, I promise! 

Goku: *walks up and takes Chi-Chi's hand* Hey, Chi-Chi! There's a _really_ big table over there with food on it! You've gotta try some of it! It's GREAT! 

Brenda: *heaves a sigh of relief as Chi-Chi and Goku disappear* 

Chibi Vegeta: Umm... is there any jello on that table? 

Brenda: *looks over at C. Vegeta* Yeah. Why do you ask? 

Chibi Vegeta: *looks nervous* It isn't... alive... is it? 

Brenda: *grins when she sees what he's worried about* Oh, no no no no! Hahaha! Are you still upset over that jello incident? 

Chibi Vegeta: *folds his arms and glowers at Brenda* I swear, it was alive! 

Brenda: *starts rolling on the floor, laughing* HAHAHAHA!!! It wasn't alive! It just jiggles a lot! HAHAHAHAHA!!! 

Chibi Vegeta: *retreats to sulk in a corner* 

Brenda: *spots someone in the crowd* Okay, hey, everyone! Can I have your attention please? I'd like you all to meet Angel. *pulls Angel out in front so everyone can see her* Angel here is our 200th reviewer, so she gets the honor of being in the 200 Review Special! 

Angel: Hi everyone! I'm Angel! *waves at audience* 

Brenda: So, tell us, Angel.... how does it feel to be on the 200 Review Special? 

Angel: It feels awesome because I get to meet all you nice people. *points to audience* 

Teen Gohan and Mirai Trunks wander into the field of vision. Seeing Brenda, they walk up to her and Angel, grinning. 

Angel: Hello! *grins* 

Brenda: *little hearts form around her head* Hiya! 

Gohan: *smiles* Hello there, ladies. Fancy meeting you here. 

Mirai Trunks: *pulls out two red roses and hands one to Brenda and one to Angel* One for Brenda, for being such a great author, and one for Angel, in honor of her being the 200th reviewer. 

Brenda: *giggles* Awww. How sweet! 

Angel: *giggles* I know. Wasn't that just so nice? Thank you! 

Goten and Chibi Trunks make gagging noises in the background. 

Goten: *whispers loudly* Yuck! Mushy stuff! 

Brenda: *glares at the two chibis, but ignores them for now* Thank you, Angel, for coming here tonight! 

Angel: Thank you for having me here! 

Brenda: Everyone say goodbye to Angel! 

Everyone waves and says goodbye as Angel leaves. 

Goten: *comes up and tugs on Brenda's shirt* Hey, Brenda? 

Brenda: *looks down* Yeah? 

Goten: *pouts* I'm really mad that you made me think my grandpa was gonna die. 

Bardock: *chips in* Yeah, me too! For a while there I thought you really _were_ gonna kill me! 

Brenda: *grins* Aww, c'mon, guys. It was for the story! Every good story needs a little drama. And, besides, now you're closer than ever! And it made the perfect setting for the following warm and fuzzy scene when Goten woke up! Warm and fuzzy scenes are good! 

Bardock and Goten look at each other, then nod. 

Goten: Okay, I forgive you. But you'd better not do that again! 

Bardock: Yeah! 

Brenda: *carefully schools her features into a blank mask* No promises. *suddenly grins* After all, you- 

The author is suddenly cut off as a large ruckus is heard from the other side of the room. Everyone glances over to see King Cold and the Ginyu Force smashing and blasting things. 

King Cold: We're angry that you haven't put us in the story yet, beyond little bit scenes! I demand that you put us in the story RIGHT NOW! 

Brenda: *looks at the various fighters in the room* Guys? I think we have some party crashers... *smirks* 

All the fighters turn and face the offending aliens, who start to sweat profusely. A barrage of ki blasts sends the evil bad guys running for their lives. After all, if they get killed here, then they wouldn't ever be in the story! 

Brenda: *grins* Thank you! 

Radditz: You're welcome. Always wanted to do that. *smirks* Say, Brenda, when do I get to be back with my dad? Do I ever get to meet Goten? 

Bardock: And what about Kakarot? Will I ever get to meet him? 

Brenda: *gives the two Saiyans a sidelong look* You should know better than to ask those questions. I'm not about to give spoilers! 

Bardock and Radditz: Dang! 

Brenda: *turns and faces the audience* Well, that's it for the 200 Review Special! I'd like to thank all of my reviewers for reviewing! Reviews are an author's life blood. And without those reviews, there wouldn't even be a Special! You guys (and girls... and whatever else is out there) are the greatest! I hope you keep reading and reviewing! That's all for now! Bai bai! 

~*~ 

(A/N: Angel was played by the real Angel. All of her lines were written by her, not me! 

This 200 Review Special is taking the place of the normal chapter. The next chapter of Wish For The Past should appear tomorrow or Monday. 

Feel free to review this Special if you want, but don't forget to review the last chapter I wrote!) 


	17. Golden Son Rise

And now... the long awaited chapter! The one everyone has been bugging me to write ever since I started this fic! *laughs* It's finally here! Kick back, relax, grab a soda, and make yourself comfortable, 'cause this is gonna be loooong. 

Disclaimer: If I owned the letters D, B, and Z, would I own DBZ? *ponders this thoughtfully* Hmm... guess not. Oh well, it's a moot point, since I don't own the letters D, B, or Z, nor do I own DBZ! I own this story, though! Woo hoo! 

I also take all credit/blame for the terrible pun I made in the chapter title. *grins* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Golden Son Rise) 

With Trunks and Bardock taking turns keeping watch during the night, the night passed and the sky lightened into the soft grays of early morning. Eager to get off the planet and begin their journey, the Goten was up early, making sure everyone else was awake. 

"Wake up! C'mon! Sooner we eat, sooner we leave! Wake _up_, Veggie-chan!" Goten was ecstatic at the prospect of being able to go home. Vegeta, however, was more than a little ticked off at being woken up by the hyper gaki. Not to mention that he had just called him that hated name. 

"Everyone in the solar system is awake, brat!" he snarled, shoving the boy away roughly. It wasn't even dawn yet and he was already in a foul temper. Somehow he had a feeling that this was going to be a long day. Goten took the prince's bad mood in stride, going over to shake Trunks awake. His purple haired friend was also awake, thanks to Goten's enthusiastic wake-up call, and his mood was almost as bad as Vegeta's, if that was possible. 

"Couldn't you have let us sleep in a little longer, Goten?" Trunks groaned. "The sun isn't even up!" 

"I waited until it started getting light," Goten protested. "I don't have a clock so I couldn't tell what time it was!" 

An amused Bardock watched the scene, having been awake even before his grandson, since he had had the last watch of the night. Watching Vegeta and Trunks get upset about being woken up so early was especially funny because they looked so much like each other. They even sounded a little like each other because of the sleepiness in their voices. Not that he had ever doubted their relation to each other, but seeing the two snappish children behaving so similarly only proved in Bardock's mind that they were related. 

Sitting up, Trunks grumpily looked out the cave and saw that, even though the sun hadn't risen, it was, indeed, becoming lighter. Sighing, he rose to his feet. "Well, we might as well get up. No chance of getting anymore sleep with Goten around." 

A rumbling filled the air as, coincidentally, all four Saiyans' stomachs growled in unison, causing a minor earthquake. Trunks pulled out another capsule and threw it to the ground. Breakfast was consumed in record time, the sun only just barely beginning to lip the horizon. Much to the amusement of the others, Vegeta avoided the jello, though he would have fiercely denied that was what he was doing. Tempers were much improved by full stomachs, though chibi Vegeta was still rather upset by the jello incident of the previous evening. 

When the sun was half visible on the horizon, the three chibis and one adult had gathered in a small field, the only level surface of appropriate size in the vicinity, and watched as Trunks tossed another capsule to the ground. Within moments, the dust cleared and a large space ship became visible. By this time, Trunks was no longer grumpy, and even the young prince was looking mildly happier. Bardock just stood there with Goten on his shoulders, smiling happily. There was something about the prospect of going on an adventure that cheered everyone's spirits up. 

Trunks was about to open the hatch on the space ship when he tensed, his face suddenly becoming serious. Goten hissed inwardly as he felt it, too. The two demi-Saiyans tilted their heads up to peer into the sky. Noticing this, Bardock looked in the direction they were looking, but couldn't see anything. Vegeta just looked confused. 

"What's wrong?" Bardock asked. 

"Can't you feel it?" Trunks whispered. "It's... it's..." 

"It's _ugly_," his friend finished for him. "It makes me feel sick!" The boy shivered and wrapped his arms around Bardock's head, burying his face in his grandfather's hair. 

Frowning, Bardock extended his ki senses, looking for whatever it was that the boys were talking about. Straining his newfound senses as far as he could, he finally picked up something. It was far enough away that he only got the faintest impression of it, but that impression was enough to leave Bardock feeling sick to his stomach. It was so dark, so slimy, so... evil. It felt like sticking his hand in rancid oil. He desperately wanted to throw himself into the river and scrub himself until he had erased any trace of that foulness. He shuddered. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vegeta growled, back to his normal self. "What is everyone so worked up about? Why aren't we getting into the ship and going to whatever damned planet you've been planning on going to?" 

Glaring at Vegeta, Trunks mentally collected his thoughts, remember that his father couldn't sense ki at this point in time. "There's a large ki coming to Vegeta-sei. Not as strong as me or Goten, but definitely stronger than anyone else on this planet. Including you, Vegeta." The boy started pacing back and forth, trying to think through how this was going to affect their plans. 

"And how exactly do you know _that_?" the Prince demanded. 

"They can sense ki, Vegeta," Bardock explained. "Like a scouter, except that they don't need a machine to do it, and they have a larger range." The ten year old stared at Bardock in disbelief. Smirking faintly, Bardock added, "I can also sense ki. Trunks and my grandson taught me how." 

"That's not important, you two," Trunks interrupted. "What's important is that there's a large, evil ki headed this way, and somehow I doubt that it will be letting us get off the planet." 

"It feels kinda like Frieza," Goten chipped in. "Though I'm not sure 'cause I only felt Frieza's ki for a few seconds." 

A cold certainty filled Vegeta, settling in the pit of his stomach like a lead weight. "Cold," he said. 

~*~ 

"Twenty minutes until the ship has completed the landing sequence, my lord." 

"Good. Very, very good." King Cold gave a smug smile as he viewed the planet that had brought the death of his son. He still didn't know how such a pitiful race of monkeys could have killed Frieza, but he was determined to pay them back in kind. Sipping wine from a glass goblet, he settled back into his chair. He had decided to toy with the Saiyans a bit before he destroyed their planet. It would be entertaining to watch them futilely throw themselves against his awesome might. He would find their rulers and torture them one by one until they pleaded for death. Of course, he would deny them that death until the very last moment, when everything would burn in a fiery blast of ki the likes of which none of them had ever seen. They would die knowing the utter despair that only a doomed race could know. 

How fitting, that the destroyers of so many worlds would soon have their own world destroyed. And by the ones whom they had been working for when they had wiped out the races of so many planets. 

~*~ 

Goten and Trunks blinked. "Cold?" the older of the two asked. "What's cold?" 

Scowling, Vegeta snapped, "I'm talking about King Cold. Frieza's father. I figured this would happen when I heard the report that you," he pointed an accusing finger at Goten, "didn't destroy Frieza's ship along with the bakayaro. Now Frieza's father is here, probably intending to finish what his son started. Kuso!" 

"Then there's only one thing to do," Trunks stated calmly. "We have to stop Cold from destroying Vegeta-sei." He pressed the button on the side of the space ship, causing it to shrink back into its capsule. Picking it up, he put it in his pocket capsule case, then turned to the others. "We probably wouldn't be able to make it off the planet with Cold waiting to blow our space ship up, anyway." 

A determined look settled onto Goten's face. "Right. We gotta save the world, Trunks!" He took to the air, heading in the direction that he felt the ki coming from. The older demi-Saiyan grinned eagerly at the prospect of a good fight and darted after his friend. 

"Are they insane?" Vegeta asked Bardock. The older warrior couldn't answer, so he just shrugged. 

"Better keep an eye on them," he said simply as he took off, looking back at Vegeta expectantly. 

_Great. I just had to be kidnapped by two brats with a death wish. Now they want to go pick a fight with the father of the strongest creature in the known universe, and I have to tag along!_ Then it occurred to the little prince that perhaps, just maybe, the two boys might be strong enough to handle King Cold and his minions. He hoped so, because if they weren't, then he and all Vegeta-sei was doomed. 

Knowing that if he didn't comply, Bardock would force him to, Vegeta took off after the foolhardy friends. 

~*~ 

It was back again, though not as strong as before. The sense of doom weighed down on Radditz's soul as he neared his home world. Only six more hours until he landed on Vegeta-sei. A pessimistic voice in the back of his head told him that, whatever was threatening his father, he would not be able to get there in time to help. 

He hoped to Kami that the voice was wrong. 

~*~ 

The sun was now fully above the horizon, pouring its golden light into the valley where four warriors waited as a large, circular ship settled into the soft, fertile ground. Several minutes passed as no one moved or spoke. Then, finally, the door of the ship cracked open and five forms emerged. Leaping high into the air, they twirled, spun, and waved their arms around in a ridiculous manner, landing in disturbing and hilarious poses as they shouted out their names. 

"Guldo!" That was the short, fat, green one with the four eyes. 

"Recuum!" A tall, bulky, muscled man with a shock of red-brown hair and a stupid look on his face. 

"Jeice!" Short, though not as short as Guldo, orange skinned, with long, flowing white hair, he was almost petite and probably the best looking of the lot. 

"Burter!" A strange purple-blue colored reptilian faced creature, almost as tall as Recuum, though not quite as ugly. 

"Ginyu!" A large, muscled, purple man with two short, straight horns coming out of the side of his head. 

"We are... the Ginyu Force!" they yelled in unison. 

Goten and Trunks burst out laughing, holding their aching sides as they tried to keep from falling on the ground. Needless to say, the Ginyu Force was rather annoyed at their outburst. 

"What's so damn funny?" Ginyu demanded, glaring at the two brats. 

"Hahahaha! Your poses! They're so funny! Hehehehe!!!" Goten gasped for air. 

"Yeah, hehehe, they're even sillier than the Great Saiyaman's!" Trunks exclaimed. Goten looked like he was about to protest this unfair comparison when he was interrupted by Captain Ginyu. 

"WHAT?! How dare you insult the Ginyu Force! Do you even realize how powerful we are, you stupid brats?!" Ginyu fumed. 

The purple haired Saiyan smirked contemptuously. "Yeah, we know. Pathetic." 

"Oh! Oh! Trunks!" the black haired boy yelped, sounding worried. "My niichan told me that Captain Ginyu can switch bodies! We'll have to be careful." 

"Thanks, Goten, I'll keep that in mind," the son of Vegeta said, not taking his eyes off of the five fools in front of them. "Say, Goten, think I can defeat them all without going Super?" he asked, too quietly for anyone but Goten to hear, though that wasn't his intention. 

The youngest boy looked speculatively at the aliens, assessing their strength and dredging up memories of their abilities from the stories Gohan had told him about them. After a moment, he nodded confidently. "Gohan said that green one, Gull-dope or whatever his name is, can stop time or something like that when he holds his breath. But you can defeat them, Trunks, I know it!" 

"Huh? How did that brat know all that?" Ginyu asked his team. Unfortunately, none of his team could give him an answer. 

Grinning confidently, the purple haired chibi Saiyan strode forward challengingly. All five aliens stared at the boy as though he had gone insane. "Dude, do you have a death wish or something?" Jeice muttered in shock. 

"Yup," Trunks chirped cheerfully. "I _do_ have a death wish. I wish... for _your_ death!" 

Faster than even Captain Ginyu could follow, the boy phased out of existence. The next thing anyone knew, Guldo was down, twitching spasmodically, his neck broken cleanly. Trunks phased back into existence exactly where he had disappeared, smirking triumphantly. "Let's see... who's next? Eenie, meenie, mynie, moe." His finger pointed at Recuum. Before the remaining four had even had a chance to react to Guldo's death, Recuum, too, was dead, a ki blast having burned a hole through his chest. 

"Nande kuso?!" Ginyu roared in confusion. "What _is_ he?! How can a.. .a _child_ be doing this?! We are the Ginyu Force! The mightiest team anywhere in the universe! We cannot-" 

"Ah, shut up," Trunks shouted in annoyance. That purple guy was really starting to get on his nerves. For that, he decided he would take him out next. However, Burter and Jeice had other ideas. 

The speedster and the pretty boy teamed up and attacked Trunks with a combined effort, startling the boy. Despite the advantage of surprise, though, the demi-saiyan was still able to dodge their attack with ease. "GALLIC GUN!!!" 

In a bright flash, both of his enemies disappeared, leaving nothing but ashes floating on the wind. Captain Ginyu, the last of his team, gaped at the spot that Burter and Jeice had once occupied. His team was gone. Killed by a mere child. A Saiyan with purple hair. 

Vegeta, however, was staring at Trunks in open-mouthed shock. _He said 'Gallic Gun'. That's my attack. I'm the only one who knows how to do it. He is... he _must_ be... MY SON!_ Trunks had just proven himself to be far more powerful than Vegeta, which the prince had already guessed, but somehow he still hadn't accepted the fact that the boy was _his_ son from the future. The conclusion was inescapable now, though. Trunks was the son of the Saiya-jin no Ouji. 

Both he and Bardock remained silent, standing a little ways back from the confrontation. They both knew that they would have little impact on the outcome of this scene, except maybe get in the way if they tried to help. Therefore they took on the role of silent spectators. 

Ginyu knew when he was outmatched. He would have fought on, however, if it weren't for the fact that the smallest Saiyan child had somehow known about his secret weapon and had warned the other boy of it beforehand. The gaki would be on guard against it, which meant that Ginyu had absolutely no chance in Hell to beat him. 

There was only one being that could possibly have a chance against this... demon of a child. Before Trunks had a chance to follow up on his previous attempt to kill Ginyu, the purple captain dashed back into the ship to find King Cold. 

~*~ 

"You're saying a mere _boy_ killed the most elite force in the universe?" Cold's voice dripped with cutting contempt. "And when it came time for you to face him yourself, what did you do?" 

"M-my lord, I c-came to report to you r-right away!" Ginyu stammered. "I knew that you'd want to know who killed your son. No one else on this pitiful mudball could possibly be strong enough to kill Frieza!" 

Without turning to face him, the Aisu-jin's tail slashed through the air and wrapped around the unlucky captain. "What you really mean to say is that you ran," the larger creature said in a bored tone as he squeezed the life out of Ginyu. As bones began to snap in the hapless alien's neck, Cold continued, "I have no use for cowards, Ginyu." With a last _crack_, Ginyu was dead. Cold dropped him to the floor, knowing that some underling would remove the body. 

He had more important things to do. Ginyu was right in one thing, at least. This purple haired Saiya-jin had to be the one who had murdered his son. It was time he learned that it was a mistake to mess with the Cold family. The last mistake he'd ever make in his short life. 

~*~ 

Meanwhile, Trunks and Goten were having a small argument. 

"But Trunks! You got to fight the Ginyu Force! It's my turn!" Goten whined. 

"Yeah, but they were easy! And the last guy ran off before I got to fight him!" Trunks argued back. 

"Come on, Trunks! Niichan told me that future you got to fight this King Cola guy when he showed up on Earth. I want to fight him. Please?" He gave his friend the best Son Puppy Eyes (TM) he could manage. 

"Oh, fine!" the purple haired chibi sighed, scowling. "Have it your way. You can fight him." 

"Yippeee!!!" Goten did a little victory dance, ending with a hug for his friend as a way of thanking him. "Oh, I know what I'll do! I'll go Super to defeat him. Just like future you did!" At this point, the black haired chibi was speaking too quickly for anyone but Trunks to understand what he was saying, so the reference to the Super Saiyan transformation went unnoticed by either Bardock or Vegeta. 

It was at that moment that King Cold emerged from the space ship, making a rather impressive entrance. His sheer size dwarfed all four of them, even Bardock, and his lashing tail whistled through the air ominously. Taking in the four Saiyans he faced, he sneered delicately, then turned to Trunks. 

"So you're the one who killed my son," he stated. 

The chibi-Saiyan snorted derisively. "No, I'm not." 

"Yeah, that was me," Goten confided sheepishly. "It was kinda an accident." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. 

King Cold frowned. This certainly wasn't what he had expected. "Very well, then, I'll kill you, first," he said lightly. With lightning speed, his tail once again whipped through the air at an intended victim. 

Impossibly, the small Saiyan child dodged the tail. Grinning, the boy got into a fighting stance. Annoyed, the Aisu-jin lashed out with his tail again, only to miss again as the boy took to the air. "Geez, you're so slow!" Goten complained. "Don't you have any cool transformations or something that'll make you faster? Niichan said that Frieza had _four_ transformations, an' you're his dad!" 

Hissing in frustration, the Aisu-jin narrowed his eyes as the gaki dodged yet another blow. It appeared that perhaps he _would_ have to use a transformation. "Very well, then, brat. If you're so eager to die, I'll be happy to oblige you!" Goten waited patiently as Cold began his transformation, his body mass decreasing considerably, horns vanishing from his head completely. What remained after the change was complete looked almost like a china doll, with delicate features and black lips. But the power emanating from this monster was even more deadly and vile than before. 

Goten smiled, looking exactly like his father right before a fight. "Cool! Now I'll transform too!" 

With a yell, a wind kicked up out of nowhere, seeming to center on the boy. Energy sparked in the air and Goten's hair stood on end. A flash of light nearly blinded anyone who was looking at him. The sky almost seemed to darken as the golden light of the sunrise gathered around the child, creating a dazzling yellow aura. Obsidian eyes shimmered and shifted into a turquoise blue, then back to black. A final yell and another blinding light. 

When the light finally cleared, Goten was gone. In his place, a boy with the same face, but blue eyes and golden hair, stood, smirking in anticipation of the fight to come. 

~*~ 

Cliff hanger, I know, but this chapter was getting waaay too long! And don't worry, I'll be having everyone else's reactions in the next chapter! 

This chapter originally had Trunks using the Big Bang Attack. However, since Vegeta couldn't possibly recognize an attack that he doesn't create until the Android Saga, I have changed it to the Gallic Gun. 

Cold's transformation scene was rather lame, I know, but I couldn't remember what those transformations looked like. During the Frieza saga, I got REALLY bored and stopped paying as much attention to what was going on. *sweatdrops* Frieza saga was my least favorite saga... until, of course, Goku went SSJ. ^_^ Anyway, forgive me for a sorry Cold transformation scene. 

Wow. Both the Special and this chapter in the same day! I wasn't expecting to get this chapter out until tomorrow at the earliest! I guess I shouldn't underestimate the powers of creation, huh? *grins* Unfortunately, the hardest part is yet to come. Writing the upcoming fight scene and all the character introspection will be difficult, and I have some long meetings I have to go to tomorrow, so the next chapter may very well not appear until Monday. Gomen nasai! 

*grins triumphantly, putting her fingers in the V for Victory sign* Yatta! Goten transformed into Super Saiya-jin! Took me long enough to get around to it, huh? And what about Trunks, you say? Don't worry, he has his moment, too. ^_^ See you all next chapter! 

Please review!! 


	18. Golden Son Rise Part Two

Originally, parts one and two of "Golden Son Rise" were intended to be the same chapter. When Goten turned Super Saiyan, I realized that if I kept to the original plan, the chapter would end up just waaay too long. So I ended at Goten's transformation, saving the rest for this chapter. Even so, both chapters are longer than normal. Not that any of you mind... *laughs* 

Special thanks to Frozenflower for beta reading this chapter and helping me polish it up! 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. However, being a fan fiction author does have its perks. *grins sadistically and points at Vegeta* There's one of 'em right there. 

Mirai Vegeta: *wearing a pink bunny suit and on his knees in front of Mr. Satan* Please, Mr. Satan! You are much stronger than me! Please let me train under you so I can become a great fighter! 

Goku: *watching in the background* *laughs his head off* 

Brenda: *evil cackle* Vegeta tried to ki blast the floppy disk I have this story saved on. Bad Veggie-chan! *shakes a finger at Vegeta* As I said, being an author has its perks. Mwahaha!! 

Vegeta: *thinks* _When I get free of this author's evil writing, I swear I'll-_

Brenda: *telepathically hears Vegeta* Ah ah ah, Veggie-chan! Careful what you think, or I may take pictures and pass out copies to everyone. *smirks* 

Mr. Satan: YEEAAH! You BETTER respect me, or I'll grind your sissy bones to dust! You know why?! Because I'M the one who defeated CELL! If it wasn't for ME, you'd all be dead right now! MWAHAHAHA!!! 

Brenda: *twitches* *pulls out a giant mallet* *starts pounding the annoying fraud to a bloody pulp* DIE DIE DIE!!! Who said you could speak during my disclaimer?! DIIIIEEEE!!!! *pauses and looks at Vegeta* *waves her magic pen and turns him back to normal* Hey, Vegeta, you can be free of your punishment if you help me blast this bakayaro to the next dimension. 

Vegeta: *cracks his knuckles and smirks evilly* With pleasure! 

Mr. Satan: Eeep.... *runs like the coward he is with Brenda and Vegeta giving chase* I'm gonna die!!! 

(A/N: If only it were so.... *sighs* And I didn't kill Mr. Satan, much as I wanted to, because I might want beat him up some more later on. ^_^) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Golden Son Rise - Part Two) 

It was as if a second sun had flared into existence. Bardock shielded his eyes with his arm, unable to look at the source of the light.. The air around him literally hummed with energy, the wind whipping his hair away from his face. After a few moments, the light dimmed slightly, making it so he no longer needed to protect his eyes. He lowered his arm, blinking as his eyes tried to adjust to what they were seeing. 

Golden ki sparkled around the boy who stood in Goten's place. Wait. Something was wrong with that observation. Bardock once again reached out with his ki senses to touch the ki of the golden haired boy and found that it was not a different child who stood in Goten's place, but, rather, it was still Goten. Different, but him, nonetheless. 

The differences, though, were enormous. The ki of this boy who was his grandson almost overwhelmed him, washing against his mind like the ocean against a small and insignificant rock. Unlike Cold's ki, coming in contact with Goten's ki was not a mentally degrading experience. Goten's ki was warm and bright and tingly, searing Bardock's soul and yet doing absolutely no harm to him. It was the absolute antithesis of the energy that Cold gave off. 

_What is he? What happened to Goten?_ The transformation that his grandson had gone through was unlike any transformation he had ever seen before. When Saiyans transformed, they became giant monkey-like beings, or ozaru. But to become ozaru, they needed the light of a full moon, or something that simulated it. No such light had been present when Goten had become... whatever he was. Something about the transformation tickled the back of Bardock's mind, as though he might have heard about something like this once, but he couldn't remember what he had heard. 

"It... it _can't _be!" Vegeta whispered hoarsely beside him. He was literally frozen in place, his eyes wide in shock and... was it fear? "How can a child - a mere _child_ - obtain that which no Saiya-jin has been able to achieve in over a thousand years?! How can a child who is not of royal lineage even have the ability?! Much less the grandson of a third-class warrior!" 

_Obviously, he doesn't realize I can hear him, _said some part of Bardock's mind which was not numb with the same shock that the prince felt. He was more amused than offended by the prince's behavior. No doubt he still held the misconception that power was determined by caste. Bardock knew otherwise, of course, because he himself had broken the barriers of caste by becoming more powerful through training and battle than many elites ever dreamed of becoming, though he tried to hide this fact from those around him. 

"What do you mean, Vegeta?" he asked quietly. Somehow, the Prince knew what was going on, and Bardock wanted to be let in on whatever it was. 

Appearing more like the child he was than he ever had before, the young Saiya-jin no Ouji tore his wide-eyed stare from the spectacle before them and looked up at the older warrior. "He's... he is _Super Saiya-jin_!" 

~*~ 

Thoroughly startled by the unexpected change in his opponent, Cold stood motionless for several long moments as he studied the differences between the child before and the child who now faced him. Lacking the ability to sense ki and having no scouter, he had no way of knowing his young enemy's strength, but the evil king had complete confidence in his ability to defeat any opponent. His son must have been careless when he had faced this child, and so had paid for his mistake with his life. Cold would not make the same mistake as Frieza. The Aisu-jin looked at the boy with curiosity and contempt, rather than fear. 

That, as he was soon to find out, was a big mistake. 

"Fascinating light display," he sneered. "Tell me, does it do you any good?" 

"More than you know," Goten smirked. He waited calmly for Cold to make the first move, knowing that if he attacked first, it would probably catch the tyrant off guard and kill him before the fight had had a chance to play out. That would be no fun. 

"Well, then, let's see how well you do!" With a look on his face that almost seemed jovial, if it weren't for the hint of sadistic pleasure that flickered in his eyes, the Aisu-jin attacked, flying forward to hook a fist into the Saiyan boy's stomach, knocking the wind from the pathetic monkey. 

Or that's what was supposed to happen. In reality, the boy slipped past his Cold's fist, gliding through his defenses and jabbed a small elbow into the lizard's side. Without pausing, Goten followed through with a one handed chop to Cold's back, slamming the creature into the ground. A small crater formed where the Aisu-jin landed. Despite the aches these attacks gave him, Cold was by no means finished. Rather, he was furious, angry with this gaki for even being _able_ to hurt _him_! He launched himself back into the fight, this time adding more power to his punches. If this kid thought he could humiliate _him,_ then he had another thing coming! 

~*~ 

Super Saiya-jin. 

A myth, a legend, almost an impossibility. And yet he was seeing it manifested before him in this eight year old half Saiyan. _No wonder he was able to defeat Frieza, _thought Vegeta, almost bitterly. _How did I ever think I could defeat this child? He could kill me with a flick of his finger if he wanted to._ Clenching his fists, he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the sight of glowing form before him. _It isn't fair! If anyone were to become a Super Saiyan, it should be _me_, not some half-grown, half-breed, third-class child! I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji! Descended from the Legendary Super Saiya-jin himself!_ Anger flooded through his veins. _How dare he surpass me! How dare he become the stuff of legend before me! It. Is. Not. Right!_

Opening his eyes again, he came to the realization that there was nothing he could do about it. Goten was worlds beyond Vegeta in strength, so it didn't matter that he came from a third-class lineage. His frustrated anger vanished like wind-chased fog and his head sagged. He knew that he was sinking into a depression, but he didn't care. There was no need for a Saiya-jin no Ouji anymore, not with someone _this_ strong around. Strength was everything to the Saiyan race, and one of the things that had kept the Vegeta family in power, aside from their greater strength and potential, had been the fact that they supposedly had descended from the Legendary Super Saiyan. Now a Super Saiya-jin had appeared, and he had not come from the royal family. One of the basic foundations of Vegeta's authority, his _life_, had been stripped from him. The young prince had never been so close to tears in his short life. 

"What's wrong, Vegeta?" a voice said softly, startling the prince out of his thoughts. Trunks had backed away from the fight at some point. Noticing the glum look on his chibi-father's face, the demi-saiyan had decided to find out what the problem was. 

"Goten is Super Saiya-jin," Vegeta despaired, hanging his head. "I am the Prince of all Saiyans, and yet the grandson of a third class soldier has outstripped me, has achieved the legendary status before me. I am left with nothing but an empty, meaningless title." A tear formed in the boy's eye, then slowly trailed down his jawline until it fell to the ground. "All my life I have been the strongest. Though at times others were stronger, they always knew that when I grew to be their age, I would surpass them. Without status, I am nothing, Trunks. Don't you see?" Vegeta lifted his head to stare at Trunks with wide haunted eyes. 

The sight of his father, no matter how young, so visibly wounded and vulnerable disturbed Trunks. He was used to his father always striving to outdo Kakarot and his family, always raging against the fact that the idiot third-class and his spawn kept managing to surpass him, but Mirai Vegeta had never given up, never accepted defeat. In chibi Vegeta's eyes, that was what he saw. Defeat. 

Trunks could not stand by and let his father be defeated like this. 

"In the future," he said quietly, "you are a Super Saiyan, too." 

Vegeta blinked, caught by surprise. "I... am a Super Saiyan?" 

Trunks nodded, smiling ruefully. "I don't know if you're the strongest. Somehow, your fights with Goku, or Kakarot, always get interrupted before an outcome is determined. But," he added with fierce pride, "I know that you never accept defeat, that you always work to become better. In my eyes, that makes you as strong as any Saiyan ever born. I'm proud to call you my father." 

Stunned by this admission, Vegeta could only look at Trunks in wonder. _He is stronger than me, and yet he is still proud of me? How-_

"Keep in mind, Vegeta," his future son added, "that Goten and I _are_ from the future. It only makes sense that we're stronger than the normal Saiyans of _this_ time. Besides, in our time, you're even stronger than me _or_ Goten." The last part was said with a huge grin. 

Gratitude, an emotion that was almost foreign to the prince, even at this young age, filled Vegeta's heart and again he came close to crying. With his words, his son had just saved Vegeta's pride and sanity. "Thank you, Trunks," he whispered. 

~*~ 

_He's stronger than I thought!_ Goten was close to panic as his face once again came in contact with the rocky landscape. Groaning, he picked himself up off the ground, wiping blood from his split lip. Almost before he could react, Cold was on him again, fists, feet, and tail sending blow after blow to rain down upon the boy. It was all he could do to dodge and block most of them, wincing as every once in a while a blow landed. So when he saw an opening in the Aisu-jin's defenses, he quickly took advantage of it by sending a large ball of ki into Cold's face. While the lizard was distracted by the pain, Goten brought himself into a familiar stance, cupping his fists, the heels of his palms touching. 

"Kaa..." Blue energy sparked in his hands. 

"Mee..." He pulled his hands to one side, the ki gathered growing exponentially. 

"Haa..." Cold was focusing on Goten again, quickly recovering from the surprise and pain of the last attack. 

"Mee..." The ball of blue ki was huge, almost too painful to hold anymore. _Just a little longer.... now!_

"HAA!!!" As Cold blasted towards the young Saiya-jin, Goten thrust his hands forward, launching the attack. The bright blue beam shot forward, slamming into the lizard's chest before he even had a chance to dodge or block. Screaming, the Aisu-jin was blasted into the ground, plowing a trench a hundred meters long. Panting heavily, he readied another ki blast, preparing to send it after Cold. 

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to use it. 

~*~ 

At the edge area where the fighting was taking place, Trunks, Vegeta, and Bardock watched closely. Only Trunks could see everything that was happening, since King Cold and Goten were traveling too fast for the other two to see most of the time. However, they all saw Goten crash into the ground with earth shattering force. Despite the strength of Goten's kamehameha, Cold had recovered with impossible speed, phasing out of existence before Goten could send another attack his way. He phased back into existence directly behind the young boy and brought his doubled up fists to smash into the back of Goten's head. 

"Goten's in trouble," Trunks worried, gnawing on his lip. "I didn't think Cold would be this strong." In his mind, he weighed his options. Should he rush to his friend's aid? Or should he wait and see if Goten would pull through? 

"Does he need our help?" Bardock asked, unknowingly echoing the chibi's thoughts. Trunks watched the fight pensively as Goten struggled to keep up with his opponent, taking more blows than he was landing. 

"No," he answered reluctantly. "Goten's not finished yet, and he'd be mad if we thought he was too weak to handle this guy on his own." 

~*~ 

Feeling dizzy from his bone jarring impact with the ground, the injured demi-saiyan picked himself up and shook his head, trying to clear the stars from his vision. Big mistake. Instead of clearing his vision, more stars appeared and he nearly fell back down as a wave of pain beat inside his head. _So stupid!_ he berated himself. _I knew better than to let my guard down after I attacked. Baka, baka, baka!_ Rubbing his sore head, he hastily erected a ki shield as Cold bombarded him with hundreds of small energy blasts. Defending against this left him feeling drained and exhausted._ Can't keep this up much longer_. The barrage of ki stopped and Goten looked up to see why Cold had stopped. The Aisu-jin was slowly advancing on him, his tail swishing back and forth lazily. 

Goten's mouth suddenly felt dry. If King Cold reached him, he knew that it would be over. In a last, desperate attempt to delay the outcome he foresaw, Goten charged up his strongest kamehameha, pouring everything into it. If this didn't work, he didn't know what he would do. 

His hands shot forward, and the deadly energy sizzled through the air, straight towards its intended target. 

~*~ 

Trunks held his breath as he watched Goten prepare a final attack. This was it. This was the deciding point of the fight. 

Dazzling blue light reflected off of everything, blinding anyone who tried to look directly at the source. Through his ki senses, the purple haired boy felt the attack fly towards the Aisu-jin with blurring speeds. Cold wasn't moving. Surely he wouldn't be able to dodge the blast. It was too fast, and he wasn't doing anything to get out of the way. He was just standing there, placidly watching his death speed towards him... 

Lifting one hand, the alien batted the blast away. 

Straight towards Trunks, Vegeta, and Bardock. 

~*~ 

Sinking to his knees in shocked horror, Goten could only stare at the rising cloud of dust billowing from where his friends had been standing when the blast struck. Frantically, he searched for their kis- 

-and found nothing. Not a trace or whisper of ki could be felt from the smoking crater. 

"NOOOOO!!!!" he screamed, guilt and loss tearing at his soul. All of his power had gone into that blast, and Cold had deflected it, sending it flying towards his friends. Vegeta and Bardock were too weak to have even had a chance to survive. Trunks... had Trunks been powered up enough to live through it? If so, then where was he? Goten couldn't find his friend anywhere. With his heart in his throat, he realized that not even his best friend had survived the attack. _His_ attack. "NOOOOOOO!!!" he screamed again, his voice raw with emotion. _Vegeta, Trunks, grandpa... what have I done?!_ With a wordless cry of grief, he blasted towards the crater, hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe, they had survived. 

He slammed into a wall head first, falling onto his rump. How had a wall suddenly appeared like that? Dazedly, he looked up and found King Cold standing over him, smiling frostily. "Oh, what a pity. You killed your little friends. How sad." The lizard's voice oozed with false concern. Sobbing, the demi-saiyan blinked back tears and got to his feet. The Aisu-jin's tail whirled through the air and slammed into the boy's side, knocking him down again. Tears of pain and loss sprang to his eyes as he once again pulled himself to his feet, ignoring his protesting muscles and bleeding wounds. 

Perhaps it was the stress of being lost in the past for the past four days. Perhaps it was the grief from losing his grandfather twice in as many days, or the guilt from being the cause of his friends' deaths, or anger at his tormentor. Perhaps it was the merely the physical pain he was enduring. Perhaps it was a combination of all of these things. Whatever it was, it caused something in the innocent, sweet, caring boy to snap and he almost seemed to visibly change before Cold's eyes into something far more deadly and powerful. His power skyrocketed to levels he had never bothered to reach for. 

He didn't know what the attack was. It just came instinctively. Gathering his newfound energy into his fingers, his arms stretched out, he was only half aware of what he was doing. The ki in his hands flared a brilliant golden color. The color of the sun dawning on the horizon. The color of a Super Saiyan in all his glory. The color of King Cold's death. He clapped his hands together and the golden ki of each hand clashed, combined, and suddenly released itself in the tyrant's direction. Still yelling, Goten poured everything into this nameless attack. His grief, his anger, his loss, his pain, his soul. Everything he had was directed at the being who stood before him. 

For a moment, the only thing that could be seen was the luminous light of Goten's attack. It consumed everything until the whole world was a golden color. And then it was gone. And so was King Cold. 

Utterly spent, the youngest child of Goku dropped out of the Super Saiya-jin form, his hair changing back to its original black color, eyes becoming the obsidian windows of his soul once more. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. 

~*~ 

Fear momentarily flickered through Trunks's mind as he saw the kamehameha wave flash towards him. The blast would kill him, Bardock, and Vegeta, he knew, unless he did something. Flaring into Super Saiyan, he mustered up every ounce of speed he had and grabbed his chibi-father and Goten's grandfather, racing away as fast as he could manage. Even so, he nearly didn't make it. Constructing a hasty ki shield, he managed to protect himself and the other two from most of the damage the explosion caused. He landed a good distance away, panting heavily as he set Vegeta and Bardock down. 

"Whew! That was close!" He glanced at the other two to make sure they were all right, only to find them staring at him. "What? What's wrong?" 

"You... you're a Super Saiyan, too?" Bardock gaped. _Goten and Trunks are _both_ Super Saiyans? Unbelievable!_

"What? You think I'd let Goten become a Super Saiya-jin and not be able to myself?" Trunks was incredulous. "I _am_, after all, _Vegeta's_ son!" 

Beside him, Vegeta was grinning like there was no tomorrow. "That's right. Trunks is _my_ son!" 

Anything else that might have been said was cut off as a flash of golden light flooded the air and blinded them. The world was golden, filled with a deafening roar as the pure energy of Goten's attack crashed into his enemy. Barely audible amidst the cacophony was his wordless cry, heard despite the distance that separated the trio from him. Then it was over and the world returned to normal. The silence that ensued was almost as deafening as the roar that had preceded it. 

His ears ringing, light spots dancing in his eyes, Trunks carefully picked his way over to the newly made valley. His mind echoed with questions as he peered through the settling dust. _What was that attack? I've never seen anything like it! Where did Goten find that strength? Did he win? Or did-_ He quickly stopped thinking, unwilling to acknowledge the possibility that Goten might have lost, instead concentrating on searching through the rubble. Behind him, Bardock and Vegeta silently searched in other parts of the crater. 

A flicker of sea green caught his eye. Rocks and debris that had been lifted into the sky during that last awesome attack had fallen on top of the child, but part of his green gi was still visible. "Hey, guys, I found him!" he shouted as he rushed over to push the rubble off of his friend. Bardock and Vegeta quickly joined him. 

Lying face down in the dirt, his clothes torn, tattered, and singed, Goten's body was badly bruised and cut, bleeding from dozens of wounds. Bardock reached out and turned him over gently, then picked him up and tenderly cradled his wounded grandson in his arms. "He's still alive," he said simply, gratefully. "Though just barely. Maybe you should give him that senzu bean, Trunks." 

Trunks smiled, relief written clearly on his face, and dug a hand into his pocket in search of his last remaining senzu bean. 

~*~ 

Before you all protest about Goten getting beat up by King Cold, even though he's obviously the more powerful, let me just say this in my defense. Goten is a sweet, little, innocent (well, fairly innocent *grins*) child. He's used to _friendly_ spars, not life or death battles. He may be physically stronger than Cold, but he isn't a cold blooded killer. That puts him at something of a disadvantage. Besides, this is probably the most difficult battle that will be in this particular fan fiction (no, I'm not gonna bring Buu, Cell, Brolly, Cooler, or any other baddies into this fic, so don't ask) so I wanted to make it just a little more difficult. Goten defeated Frieza by accident and with such ease because Frieza was untransformed. Cold was in his most powerful form. If Frieza had been transformed, that fight would have been more difficult. And if you still have a problem with the fact that Cold vs. Goten wasn't an easy fight, then pull out my Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM), reach in, and pull out the excuse that this is, after all, an Alternate Universe and maybe the bad guys are a little stronger. Besides, none of you know how strong Cold is when he's transformed, so nyeeh! *sticks out her tongue* 

Jessi-chan- You're right, I goofed there. Namek _was_ destroyed and they _did_ relocate to New Namek. I realized my mistake a while ago, but was too lazy to try to go back and fix it. So (and again you're right) I'm claiming the ol' AU excuse. ^_^ Wasn't the first, won't be the last. Lol. I already know of a REALLY huge inconsistency coming up that I'm gonna have to pull the AU excuse on. Can't tell ya what it is (no spoilers ^_^) but it should appear in a few chapters. All I can say is that it will put all my other goofs and differences between timelines to shame. *grins* 

_Random Author Babbling_: I love double-meaning titles and titles with subtle connotations. Naming chapters and stories is always fun for me because it gives me a chance to exercise my talent with words. I usually don't bother to explain the multiple meanings that many of my titles have, but I think I will this time, because the chapter title I've used for this chapter and the last one isn't just a _double_ meaning. It's a _triple_ meaning title! *grins proudly* "Golden Son Rise," besides being a pun, has three meanings. I'm sure most of you caught the first two (the sun was rising as the last chapter was starting, and Son Goten became Super Saiyan). But the third meaning only comes into play in _this_ chapter. Since Trunks is Vegeta's son and he goes SSJ, he, too, is a "Golden Son." 

Not all of my titles have multiple meanings, but if you're bored, go back and look at the titles of the chapters (and the story) and see if you can spot the extra meaning or hidden connotation I might have put in. ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

I think I've mentioned this story before, but I haven't officially advertised it. Read "Contradicting Mission" by Chelsee! Gohan is sent to the past and must work with three of his worst enemies in order to save the future. It's a great story, with long chapters and excellent fight scenes, characterization, and plot development. 


	19. Departure

Whew... writing those last two chapters was _hard_. It took me almost a whole _day_ to even think about starting the next chapter. My poor mental faculties were exhausted by the sheer depth that I put into Golden Son Rise. It was all worth it, though! The reactions I got to the Golden Son Rise chapters truly touched me and inspired me to get back to work. ^_^ 

I've had more than one person ask if the power that Goten used to kill Cold was the power of SSJ2. *smiles enigmatically* I'm not going to answer. Rather, I think I'll leave that up to the reader's imagination. Perhaps someday I'll reveal the truth of what happened during that fight, but for now it will remain one of the unexplained mysteries of this story. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: *crickets chirp* 

Trunks: Umm... where's Brenda? 

Gohan: Er... last I saw, she was pounding Mr. Satan into the dirt. *grins, inwardly delighted* Guess she just forgot that it was time for the disclaimer. 

Trunks: *smirks as he pictures that* Sooo... I guess that means we need to do the disclaimer for her, huh? 

Gohan: Yup. *faces audience* Brenda doesn't own DBZ. If you sue her, you'll have to deal with _me_! 

Trunks: *glowers at anyone who might sue Brenda* And _me_! 

Gohan: Now that the disclaimer is over, do you think maybe Brenda will let us help her? *grins* 

Trunks: Only one way to find out! *smirks* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Departure) 

Bardock smiled as he watched the wounds on Goten's small body vanish as if they had never been. There was still blood all over him, and his clothes were torn beyond repair, but his grandson was once again whole. He lifted a hand and plucked a leaf from Goten's hair, brushing a stubborn lock of hair away from his eyes as he fondly recalled the past few days. _What have you done to me, Goten?_ he silently wondered. _Before you came, I was half mad with grief and filled with the need for revenge for my team. I don't think I really knew love until I met you, at least not this kind of love. The only love I'd known before you was what I felt for Sereri. Now that I've met you, I can tell that what Sereri and I felt for each other was only one kind of love. Having this new kind of love makes me realize how empty my life has been up until now. You've changed me, Goten. And I think it's for the better._

As the senzu bean finished its work, Goten opened his eyes, completely healed. Confusion played across his face as he looked up at Bardock. "Am... I dead?" he asked, puzzlement in his voice. 

Laughing with genuine amusement, Bardock shook his head. "Ie, Goten. You're not dead. Why would you think that?" 

Relief and joy slowly crept over the boy's face at this revelation. "I thought I killed you, grandpa. And Trunks and Vegeta. When I was fighting with Cold. So I thought that if I could see you, and you were dead, then I must be dead too." He became thoughtful as he thought about this. "I'm glad I was wrong." He smiled suddenly and hugged Bardock fiercely, who returned the hug with equal enthusiasm. 

Bardock chuckled. "No, you didn't kill us. Trunks became a Super Saiyan and pulled us out of the way of your attack. Which reminds me..." he trailed off, giving his grandson a look of mock-sternness. 

"Yes, grandpa?" 

"Why didn't you tell me you were a Super Saiyan?" 

Scratching his head with one hand, Goten gave Bardock a sheepish look. "Well, we can all go Super. My dad, my brother, Vegeta-san, Trunks. I guess it kinda slipped my mind. It just seems natural." 

Bardock blinked owlishly at his grandson. "My son and my other grandson can both become Super Saiyans, too?" Goten nodded. The warrior set the boy down and stood up, a stunned look on his face. "Kuso, this is gonna take some getting used to." He shook his head ruefully and gestured to his left. Goten shifted his attention to the direction his grandfather was indicating. The ship that Trunks had brought with him that they had been about to use before Cold had shown up gleamed in the morning sunlight. "Trunks and Vegeta are inside, checking to make sure everything is in order. We were just waiting for the senzu bean to finish healing you before we took off, which hasn't been that long, actually. Those things really work fast!" 

As they ascended into the ship through the open hatch, Goten's small hand sought out his grandfather's larger, calloused hand and clasped it tightly. Again, he had nearly lost his newfound family, bringing him once again to the realization of just how important Bardock had become to him. As they silently walked to the pilot's room, Goten determined that he would do everything in his power to make sure that he would not lose his grandfather. Ever. 

~*~ 

"You know, the government on Vegeta-sei probably won't let you leave the planet," Vegeta informed Trunks. "Once they realize you are attempting to escape, they will no doubt move to stop you." 

The purple haired boy looked up from the console he was bending over. "I figured as much. That's where you come in, Vegeta. I can call them and tell them that I have you prisoner and that if they don't leave us alone I'll kill you. Or you could go back to your palace, take charge, and order them not to bother us. Then you wouldn't have to come with us." He hunched back over the console, typing in the coordinates of the planet Namek. They had agreed that, since Namek was closer to Vegeta-sei than Earth was, that would be where they would go to gather the dragonballs. 

Looking thoughtful, the young prince stared off into space for a moment as he contemplated these options. "I do not wish to become King just yet." He looked at his future son with eyes that were almost pleading. "I wish to go out and do things, to explore and have fun! If I become King, I will not have the luxury of being able to be myself. If..." he paused, forcing himself to swallow his pride, "if it is all right with you, I would like to come with you, to have one last adventure." Bardock and Goten had entered the room in time to hear this last bit. The three exchanged glances, then nodded slightly in unspoken agreement. 

"We'd love to have you with us," Trunks grinned. He became sober again as he added, "But we still need to figure out how to get off this planet without having half the army on our tails." 

"If I order them from here not to follow us, they might think that I was merely trying to make up an excuse to go off on an adventure. They would send someone after us to bring me back," Vegeta mused. "Perhaps your plan of claiming me as a hostage is the best one. Bardock would have to be the captor, of course, as no one would ever believe that two children were capable of holding me, the Saiya-jin no Ouji, prisoner against my will." Bardock grinned at the irony of this statement. 

Working together, the trio of 'criminals' and the 'captive' prince hammered out the details of a plan. 

~*~ 

With their plans made and their destination set, the four Saiya-jin prepared to take off. Bardock keyed in the frequency to call the planetary government. "Well, let's get this "show" started," he murmured as he pressed the "Talk" button, bringing the screen to life. A fierce looking man who looked like he would be more at home on a battlefield rather than behind a communications console appeared, scowling at the person who dared call him. 

"Vegeta-sei Government." The man sounded like he desperately wanted to blow something up and would take any excuse to do so. 

"Ossu!" Bardock said cheerily. "I just wanted to tell you guys that I have Prince Vegeta hostage and if you don't let my ship get off planet, I'll kill him!" He waved at the flabbergasted official, grinning broadly. To Trunks and Goten, he had never looked and sounded more like Goku. It was very hard not to giggle at the scene. 

"N-nani?!" The warrior-official glared daggers at Bardock. "Who are you? Why should we believe you?" 

A thoughtful look appeared on Bardock's face. He tilted his head to one side, placing a finger on his chin. "Well, I won't tell you who I am, but I _will_ prove that Vegeta's my hostage!" Saying this, he stepped aside and pulled a bound and gagged chibi Vegeta in front of the screen. The ten year old prince gave his captor a look of pure venom as he struggled with his ki-absorbing bonds. Behind him, Bardock grinned impishly and lifted Vegeta out of the way. "See? Now, all I want is to get off this planet without being stopped by a Patrol Force. I'll leave his Royal Highness somewhere with a communicator and he can get in touch with you. Deal?" 

Glowering angrily, the official turned away from the screen to address someone they could not see. Apparently the sound had been toggled because, while they could see the Saiyan's lips moving, they could not hear a word that was said. This went on for several minutes until someone replaced the official. Joy. Yet another ticked off veteran of war. 

"How do we know that you will keep your word?" the new official asked suspiciously. 

"You don't," Bardock chirps. He was feeling particularly cheerful right now. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had just been given the chance to thumb his nose at the damned government. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he didn't expect to ever see his homeworld again. Whatever the reason, he felt like leaving with a huge, goofy smile and a cheeky wave of his hand. And maybe an inappropriate gesture while the kids weren't looking. "But you don't exactly have much choice, do you?" 

Silence reigned for several long moments. Finally, "Fine. You have permission to leave the atmosphere." 

"And if I see any ships leave the docks, Vegeta-ouji gets a one-way ticket to the next dimension," Bardock added, suddenly serious. 

"Fine," the official growled. "None of our ships will leave the planet or any docking bays." 

Making sure the chibis in the room couldn't see, Bardock cheerfully gave the official an obscene gesture, then switched the transmission off. "Well, looks like we're on our way!" Still in a good mood, he walked over to Vegeta and undid his bonds. 

~*~ 

The nameless government official glared at the blank screen. Glancing at the display that showed the progress of the criminal ship's departure, he suddenly noticed that there was another blip. An incoming ship. He smirked. They had promised to allow them to leave the planet, and not to let any ships leave the docking bays, but they had _not_ said anything about ships that were already in flight. It wasn't as if they could control the destination any ship that just happened to come into the system... 

~*~ 

_A short time ago..._

He could only stare in wonder at the second sun that was glowing down on the planet's surface, visible even from this distance. He had tried to get a reading on the odd energy source, but the circuitry of the ki detection device had blown as soon as he had targeted the power. What could be so powerful that it was able to overload a _ship's_ scouter? And what was it doing on Vegeta-sei? He was almost certain that it had something to do with the ominous feelings he'd been getting. As soon as the light winked out, the sense of dread also disappeared, leaving behind a mystery in its wake. 

_What have you gotten yourself into now, father?_ he pondered silently as he checked the clock on his console. Only an hour before he landed on the planet. Then he would be able to find some answers. Settling himself back for the wait, he tried to take a nap to pass the time. 

The fifteen year old Saiyan must have succeeded in dozing off, because the next thing he knew, he was receiving a transmission from the Vegeta-sei Government. He frowned as he flipped the switch that would enable him to hear the speaker on the other end. _Why would the Vegeta-sei Government want to talk to me?_ he asked himself in bewilderment. 

"This is Radditz." 

"Radditz, this is the Vegeta-sei Government," a gravelly voice replied. "You are hereby ordered to pursue the ship exiting the atmosphere on vector 273-31-016. Prince Vegeta has been taken hostage by those on board the vessel. You are to proceed with caution, as the kidnappers have threatened to kill him should they be aggressively pursued. You are to follow them at a discreet distance, observe where they go, and rescue the prince should the opportunity arise. Vegeta-sei Government out." The transmission ended abruptly before the Saiyan boy even had a chance to ask any questions. 

_The Prince has been kidnapped? Who could be powerful enough to hold Prince Vegeta hostage? Very few people have that kind of strength, and most of them are loyal to the empire._ Frowning, Radditz thought back to the odd light and the power reading - or the effect trying to read its power had on the scouter - he had witnessed only half an hour ago. On a hunch, he checked the coordinates where the light had appeared and compared them to the extrapolated launch coordinates of the ship escaping on vector 273-31-016. 

They were the same. 

_What does this mean, though?_ he wondered. _The ship holding the Prince came from the same place as the ki. That ki, I feel, has something to do with the premonitions, or whatever they are, that I've been getting about my father. What do I do? Do I pursue this criminals that hold my prince hostage and who might have something to do with my father? Or do I disobey my orders and land on the planet to search for Bardock? _He weighed the choices before him carefully. _My father _may_ need my help if he was anywhere near that ki, but my prince _definitely_ needs help.___

Sighing, he reached out and began altering his flight vector to match that of the fleeing ship. Duty to his prince outweighed duty to his father. Besides, he had no way to know for certain that Bardock was in trouble. The troubling feelings has disappeared again and he didn't know when or if they would return at all. His father would just have to take care of himself for now. He had been doing that for many years without Radditz. Radditz figured Bardock could keep doing so for a little while longer while he took off after the prince and his captors. 

The adolescent boy groaned as he checked the star charts to see where they were going. There was nothing polluted anywhere along the route for several hours of travel. It looked like he was going to be stuck in his ship for a long time to come. Great. Just great. 

He pondered on whether or not it would be worth it to engage the sleeping gas, but decided against it. After all, he never knew if his quarry would change directions in mid-flight. Since they _were _escaping criminals, he suspected that they probably _would_ change course at least once. It looked like he was going to have a long, boring, and sleepless flight. 

~*~ 

*panics* *runs around yelling* Call a doctor! Call an ambulance! Call the Eternal Dragon! I CHOPPED OFF GOKU'S ARM!!! WAAAAAH!!! I didn't mean to! Honest! *holds her head and moans* Poor Son-kun! It was an accident! *cradles the wounded warrior in her arms* *audience notices that it isn't the _real_ Goku, just a resin statue of him* Oh! Wait! I have glue! Where's the glue?! DANG IT! I lost my glue!! *frantically tears apart her already-messy room in search of the precious glue needed to heal her poor Son-kun* ARGH! I can't find it! My poor Goku is armless! And it's all my fault! *sobs* Where's a senzu bean when you need one? 

With that bit of my real life insanity out of the bag... on to the rest of my closing comments. ^_^ Woo hoo! Radditz-kun's first scene of any real length or importance! This chapter probably seems like something of a let-down after the Golden Son Rise chapters.... Somehow I doubt I'd be able to keep up _that_ level of writing for the rest of this story. I was also feeling a little creatively-drained (not writer's block, just drained) from writing the last two chapters. Still, things should pick up once I get back into the flow of action once again. 

Bardock's character came off a little... weird... in the kidnapping scene. Oh well. It's getting late and I don't feel like going over it again. ^_^ 

Please review! 


	20. Mischief

Warning: Author on a rampage!!! (Rant is not directed at any specific person, but to the audience in general.) 

IF I GET ONE MORE STUPID QUESTION FROM SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T BOTHER TO READ MY AUTHOR NOTES, I'M GONNA GO BALLISTIC!!! I put _important_ information in my notes, so if you ask me something that I've already answered in my notes (such as "Why don't the Saiyans notice that Goten and Trunks don't have tails?") I will either completely ignore you or I will bite your head off. READ MY AUTHOR NOTES BEFORE YOU ASK STUPID QUESTIONS!!! 

*calms down considerably* Glad I got that out of my system. *smiles sweetly* 

Disclaimer: *whistles cheerfully as she puts away her bloody mallet* I don't own DBZ. If I did, Mr. Satan would never have gotten away with taking credit for killing Cell. *smirks evilly* Which means I just have to settle for beating him up in my disclaimers. Something that feels really good, actually. 

Mirai Vegeta: *matches Brenda's smirk* Indeed. You know, Brenda, I believe that you would make a worthy Saiyan. 

Brenda: *grins* Why, thank you, Vegeta! *thinks* _Good Kami, what's the world coming to? Vegeta just _complimented_ me?!_

**Wish For The Past**   
(Mischief) 

"Truuunks," Goten whined from his bunk bed. "I'm boooored!" 

On the upper bunk, the purple haired demi-saiyan heaved a sigh and rolled over to peer over the edge of his bunk down at Goten. "Yeah, me too. There's nothing to do!" 

"How much longer 'til we get there, Trunks?" Goten looked up at Trunks, yawning widely. They had already been traveling for most of the day, changing course every so often to make sure no one would be able to track them to Namek. This, of course, had lengthened the journey considerably. 

"Probably another few hours, Goten," his friend replied. "Hey, maybe we could play a prank on someone!" His voice had suddenly become excited and a large grin spread across his face. "We haven't done anything like that in _days_!" 

"Great idea, Trunks!" the black haired chibi cheered. "What should we do?" 

"How 'bout we play a joke on your grandpa? I know my chibi-dad would be fun, but we've never done anything to Bardock before! This'll be fun!" Not having any other ideas, Goten quickly agreed and together the two trouble makers plotted the mischief they were about to make. 

~*~ 

While the two boys schemed about ways to play pranks on Bardock, the Saiyan in question was currently standing bare chested in his room wearing only the black pants that he'd been wearing for the past few days. In his hands he held the tattered and bloodied green shirt, staring at it slightly despondently. He wondered if it was even possible to return it to a semblance of its former state, before all of the mayhem he'd been pulled into had damaged it. The fabric itself was intact enough that it might be salvaged, but he had no idea if the blood stains would ever come out. Dropping the garment on his bed, he headed for the bathroom. Maybe there was something in the there that would work... 

Within the bathroom, he discovered a cabinet with a wide variety of containers. "Sham-poo, con-di-tioner, de-o-de-rant... wonder what that is.... Damn, I can't read any of this! I guess it's all in whatever language they speak on Earth. Hmm... well, since they're being stored in the bathroom, they're probably things used to clean things." He grinned at his deductive abilities and grabbed several of the bottles. "_One_ of these things _has_ to be able to remove blood!" It didn't occur to him that maybe he should just ask Trunks or Goten what they were. 

He stepped through the door of the bathroom and headed for his bed where he'd left the shirt, intending to get straight to work on restoring his shirt. However, when he reached his bed, he discovered that he wouldn't be able to clean his shirt after all. 

The green shirt had mysteriously disappeared. 

Bardock looked around suspiciously, certain that he had placed the thing on the bed only a few minutes before. Suddenly, he heard a faint scuffle coming from the closet where he supposed a normal passenger would store their clothes. He didn't have any extra clothes, so the closet was empty. 

Or was it? 

Grinning, he walked over to the closet door and opened it. He smirked in self-satisfaction as two small bodies tumbled out of the closet with horrified looks on their faces. Goten was holding an open bottle of something in one hand, the cap in the other. Trunks was clutching the missing green shirt to his chest. Both boys gulped. 

"He found us Trunks!" Goten wailed, dropping the bottle on the carpet. In an instant, the pale blue carpet began to turn a neon pink color as the liquid within the bottle spilled out. The two tried to dart past Bardock in an attempt to escape, but somehow Bardock managed to snatch them up by the backs of their shirts. It was then that the two chibis noticed the reckless grin on the older warrior's face and the flicker of something akin to insanity in his eyes. _I think we're in trouble,_ Trunks thought in panic. _That's the same look Gohan got when we showed up at his school and blew up the cafeteria!_ He shuddered as he remembered what Gohan had done to them. 

"What were you two boys planning on doing with my shirt, hmm?" Bardock's smile only broadened as his captives squirmed in his grip. "You do realize that's the only shirt I have, right?" There it was again. That crazed gleam was in his eyes, making the smile on his face that much scarier. Goten was trying his best not to melt into a puddle right there, his own eyes wide in terror. Bardock's gazed shifted from the mischievous duo to the green shirt that Trunks still held in his hands. 

Or, rather, what had once been a green shirt. Streaks of pink stained the fabric in a crazed swirl that, after a moment, Bardock realized made a pattern of sorts. Symbols from that Earth language he had read on the bottles in the bathroom decorated his once green shirt. Four of them. B. A. K. A. His eyes hardened. "What does that say on my shirt?" If it was possible, the two boys paled even more and began to stammer incoherently. "Well? I'm waiting...." 

"It says 'baka,' grandpa," Goten whispered. 

"Oh." That was all he said as he contemplated what to do with the two. Taking his silence as an indication of impending doom, Trunks figured that the best thing to do was get the heck out of there. Flashing into Super Saiyan, he pulled free of Bardock's grasp and grabbed hold of Goten by the arm. Goten, catching on to his friend's plan, also went Super. 

"Run away!!!" they shouted in unison, darting towards the exit. In his haste, Trunks dropped the once-green shirt before he vanished through the door. 

Bardock picked up the shirt and sighed, looking over the shirt. Trunks had unconsciously taken his stress out on the thing, leaving holes from his fingers and tears from being twisted too hard in some places. Added to that were the tears and singe marks from the fight with Nappa, along with the bright pink letters that spelled out 'baka'. All in all, the shirt had been rendered totally and utterly unwearable. 

"Great. Now what am I going to wear?" He'd have to track down his grandson and his friend later on after he thought up an appropriate punishment. It wouldn't be too hard to find them. After all, they would be stuck on this ship for several more hours, and there weren't exactly that many places to hide. 

~*~ 

It was definitely a good thing Radditz had kept himself from falling asleep. The ship he was following changed course so many times that if he had not been awake, he would never have been able to track them. Now they were approaching a green planet and he guessed that they had finally reached their true destination. Checking the star charts, he found that the planet was one called Namek, inhabited by peaceful green bipeds with fairly high kis. Other than that there was nothing of interest on Namek-sei. _That's odd. Why would the prince's kidnappers stop here? Unless they mean to drop him off for someone to pick up... No. Surely not. Why go to all the bother of taking the Prince of all Saiyans hostage if you only intend to let him go? There must be something more to this planet than the records show. If so, then I intend to find out.___

_But if they _do_ mean to abandon the prince here, then I will need to pick him up. Either way, it looks like I'll be landing._ So far he had managed to keep from being detected by the other ship, keeping a respectable distance which had made it difficult to keep up 

~*~ 

In the end, Bardock had tossed the shirt in the disposal and had opted to just go shirtless for the time being. Like he had much choice. Still, he supposed he should be grateful that Namek had a moderate climate. A light breeze swirled over his broad, muscled chest as he inhaled the fresh scents of the new world. Beside him, wearing shirts with the the letters B, A, K, and A painstakingly dyed in pink, the contrite duo took in their new surroundings as Vegeta smirked at them. Since he had not been a party to the prank, he had been spared Bardock's punishment. It was rather amusing to see the brats plucking self-consciously at the shirts Bardock had told them they had to wear for the entire time they were on Namek. Which meant, of course, that they would be wearing them when they wished themselves back home. It really was hilarious. 

"Well, let's get started, then," Bardock stated as he finished examining the world around him. He didn't let it show, but on the inside he was wrestling with his emotions, forcing himself to come to terms with the facts. Soon, they would have the dragonballs gathered and the wishes could be made. Trunks and Goten would return to their time and their families, Vegeta would return to Vegeta-sei, and Bardock... Bardock didn't know what he would do. He couldn't imagine life without Goten in it anymore. The child had somehow found his way into his grandfather's heart and permanently lodged himself there. When he left, there would be a huge, gaping hole that the Saiyan didn't know if he would ever be able to fill. Goten had come to mean the world to him, and he was about to lose him. 

Still lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice as Trunks pulled out the Dragon Radar and pressed the button. Nor did he notice the frown appear on the demi-saiyan's face. He _did_ notice, however, when Trunks spoke up, his voice filled with worry. "Uhh.. guys, I think we have a problem. The Dragon Radar isn't picking up anything!" 

Surprised out of his depressing thoughts, Bardock turned his head to look at the boy quizzically. "What does that mean?" 

"Well, one of two things. Neither of which is a good thing. Either the dragonballs here are dormant, or," he inhaled slowly, attempting to calm himself, "or the Dragon Radar is broken. If it's broken, I don't know if I'll be able to fix it." It was obviously that last possibility that worried him the most. 

"Why exactly are we looking for these 'dragonballs', anyway?" Vegeta asked, raising one regal eyebrow. 

"Because dragonballs grant wishes and me and Trunks are gonna wish ourselves back where we belong," Goten explained. "That's how we got here in the first place. We used the dragonballs. I came here by accident 'cause I didn't say my wish right. Trunks came 'cause he wanted to help me." 

"They can grant wishes?" the young prince asks, stunned at the prospect. Goten nodded enthusiastically. 

"But you have to have a Dragon Radar to find the balls." That dashed any hopes he might have had of finding these dragonballs himself. Oh well. It had just been a thought. 

Trunks peered off into the distance, frowning in thought. "Maybe we could ask the Elder of the Nameks if the dragonballs are just dormant. If they're dormant, they wouldn't show up on the radar. Come on. I can sense some Nameks this way. They'll probably know where to find the Elder." The nine year old chibi capsulized his ship, then took to the air. One by one, the other three followed him as they sought out the one who might have the answer to their question. 

Mixed feeling played through Bardock's mind during the journey. If the dragonballs were dormant, or the radar was broken, then that obviously meant a delay, whether permanent or temporary, in Goten's departure. Goten would be trapped in the past for that much longer. However, that would also mean that Bardock would be able to spend more time with him. While it saddened him that Goten would not be able to see his family for however long it took to fix their current problem, part of him was pleased that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to keep his beloved grandson just a little longer. 

~*~ 

Radditz stepped out of his pod and looked around at the world he had landed on. Seeing nothing of immediate interest, he turned his scouter on and began to track the kis of the prince and his three captors. Locking onto the prince's signature, the young man took off in the direction the scouter said they were. Perhaps he would find the opportunity to rescue the prince from the criminals. Then his job would be done and he could return to Vegeta-sei. And to his father. 

He frowned as he remember that these criminals might have something to do with the large ki that had appeared on Vegeta-sei and seemed to be linked to the feelings he had been getting about his father. Maybe he would find more than just the opportunity to free Vegeta. Maybe he would also find some answers. There was only one way to find out, though. 

With the wind flying through his hair, the fifteen year old boy sped off after his quarry, keeping low to the ground. They weren't traveling at a particularly fast rate. In fact, it looked like he would overtake them in a few minutes if he wasn't careful. He slowed down. Now was not the time to run into the criminals. He only needed to be close enough to observe them until the chance to do something arose. 

With these thoughts in mind, Radditz grinned. The hunt was on. 

~*~ 

*smirks* You guys actually thought I was going to let them get home _that_ easily? No way! *laughs* You should know by now that I'm not _that_ nice to my characters! I still have many things planned for this fic. Expect many more chapters! ^_^ 

Mwahaha... Trunks and Goten have been acting too innocent in my story. Realizing this, I used their trouble making habits to my advantage. *grins* Now we can all enjoy a nice, shirtless Bardock for a while. *drools* 

Speaking of Bardock... I want reader opinions on something. In the next Bardock fic that I write, I will probably be having some romance for our handsome warrior. However, I don't know who the lucky lady will be! In a review, tell me if you think I should somehow bring Sereri back, or if I should just make up a new character. Also, any input on what her character should be like (who would Bardock go for, anyway?) would be greatly appreciated! Keep in mind, though, that NONE of this will take effect in this fic! 

I really don't have anything else to say, so I'll stop talking now. Please, please review!!! 


	21. What's Going On?

Umm... I have nothing to say. O_O Oh! Wait! I can always cheer about how great and wonderful my reviewers are! Woo hoo! 350 reviews!!! You guys are awesome! *giggles* 

Disclaimer: *thumbs through a pile of money* Hee hee hee... I'm making so much money off of this story! *notices the audience* *yelps* AHH!!! You weren't supposed to hear that! AAAHHH!! *swiftly hides the money* You weren't supposed to see that! *hides the copy of the ownership rights to DBZ that's sitting next to where the money was* AAAHHH!! My secret is out! I'm really the owner of DBZ and I'm making money off my fan fic!!! And now everyone knows! AAAAAHHH!!! 

Er... just kidding. ^_^ I don't own DBZ and I'm not making a single red cent (or any other currency) off of this story. However, if you steal my idea or any of my characters (of which I have few) then I will "borrow" Vegeta and have him blast you to the next dimension. ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(What's Going On?) 

There it was again. Weak, but there. This time he was sure of it. Trunks pulled to an abrupt stop in midair, waiting for the others to pause in their flight as well. When the other three floated next to him, giving him puzzled looks, Trunks explained. "We're being followed. The kis signature is weak and doesn't feel like a Namek's, which makes me suspicious." 

"What do we do, Trunks?" Goten asked, looking in the direction of the weak ki as his friend drew his attention to it. 

"Don't stare at it!" the lavender haired kid hissed, pulling Goten's arm to make him stop glancing towards the ki. "We want to find out who this guy is. If he realizes we know he's there, he might run away, and I _don't _want to chase him." 

"So what you're saying you want to do," Bardock uttered thoughtfully, "is stop and pretend to make camp or something. Then when he gets close, one of us can take him by surprise?" He lifted an eyebrow questioningly at Trunks. 

The boy nodded. "That's what I had in mind." Descending to the ground, he searched through his pocket for the right capsule. "We should probably eat. That will provide a reasonable enough explanation for why we stopped, and I'm hungry anyway. You three start eating, though. I'll sneak around behind the guy, then once we've captured him, I'll eat, too." He gave a capsule to Bardock, trusting that the adult had figured out how the things worked by this point. 

~*~ 

The scouter indicated that his quarry had stopped just over the next rise. Apparently, they'd decided to land as well. _I wonder why they stopped?_ Radditz quietly crept to the top of the hill and peered between two boulders. There they were. From the distance, he couldn't make out any details, but three figures stood on the ground, two short and one tall. Where was the fourth? _Damn, can't see anything from here. Maybe if I got a little closer..._

Using the available boulders and scrub brush as cover, the adolescent boy snuck closer to the trio. Still no sign of the fourth person. The only adult he had seen had tossed something to the ground, too small for Radditz to see, but when it had hit, there suddenly appeared a small mountain of food. It was then that Radditz realized just how long it had been since he'd had anything substantial to eat. He cursed himself silently as his stomach nearly gave him away. Fortunately, none of the three noticed his stomach grumble. Probably because their own stomachs were making the same eager sounds. 

There. He was close enough now that he would be able to get a good look at the criminals' faces if they faced the right direction. One of the two smaller figures was Prince Vegeta. Something puzzled Radditz as he examined his prince for any signs of physical abuse. Not only were there no signs of injury, there were also no signs that Vegeta was even a prisoner. Nothing bound his hands or feet, neither of his two visible captors seemed to be keeping an eye on him at all - their sole focus of attention was the food in front of them - and, in fact, they seemed to be allowing him to eat freely, sharing their food without complaint. Even Vegeta's attitude lacked the fierce and bitter anger he should be feeling if he was even remotely close to being considered a prisoner. _What's going on here?_

Radditz's attention was drawn to the other little boy as the child dropped some kind of orange fruit which rolled away from him and towards Radditz's hiding place. Nowhere close enough to possibly create the danger of him spotting the teenager, but convenient in that it allowed the Saiyan to get a good look at the child's face. The chibi grabbed the fruit and straightened up, glancing in his direction too briefly for Radditz to imagine that he might have been seen. Not that he was thinking about whether or not he'd been discovered. His eyes were firmly fixed on the child's face, widening in shock at what he saw. 

He _knew_ that boy! He hadn't seen him in years, but he recognized him all the same. The hair that looked like their father's, the face that matched Bardock's in every way, except that it lacked the scar on the cheek and was a paler color. The ebony eyes that seemed to see everything. There could be no mistake. That boy was his brother! _What the hell is Kakarot doing here?!_

So intent was he upon the child in front of him that he never noticed the fourth member of the group of 'criminals' sneak up behind him. That is, until Trunks tapped him on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. 

"AAAH!!" the young warrior yelped in alarm, his heart racing wildly as he instinctively lashed out at whoever had managed to get behind him without alerting the scouter. When his fist met with nothing, Radditz became overbalanced and tripped on a rock in his attempt to regain control of his flailing body. Down he went in a tumble of arms and legs, landing ungracefully on his head, feet in the air and stars dancing in front of his eyes. His tail had ended up beneath him, getting crushed under his weight and sending pain shooting up his spine in agonizing waves until he shifted enough to get the sensitive appendage out from under him. 

A face appeared above him and Radditz found himself looking up into the concerned eyes of his little brother. Another head came into view, one Radditz hadn't seen before. Obviously the fourth member of the party, the one who had just scared the hell out of him. Limp purple hair cut in a bowl shape framed the delicate features of yet another child with mischievous blue eyes. 

"Are you okay?" Kakarot asked him, worry plainly evident in his voice. The teen blinked, attempting to banish the stars from his vision. His brother turned his head to look at the odd-looking chibi next to him. "You didn't have to scare him that bad, Trunks!" 

"Geez, Goten, it's not like I _meant_ to scare him! It's not _my_ fault he wasn't paying any attention! I only tapped him on the shoulder." That was odd. The purple haired boy - Trunks, was it? - had just called his little brother 'Goten'. 

With a groan, Radditz toppled over onto his side, then sat up, rubbing his head gingerly. There was already a lump the size of an egg forming where he had landed on his head. His tail curled around him and rested in his other hand, bruised and sore from being squashed, and he tenderly smoothed the hairs on the wounded area. "Kakarot?" he asked in a dazed voice. "What are you doing with the criminals who've kidnapped the prince?" 

Confusion played across his little brother's face as he sat down on the ground to stare into Radditz's eyes. The child tilted his head to one side in a way that Radditz found endearing. "Who are you?" Kakarot asked. 

Before Radditz could answer, the third member of the group of criminals spoke up. "Radditz? What are you doing here?" The teen's eyes shot wide open as he jerked his head in the direction of the speaker. It couldn't be... 

"Dad?" Yes, it was him. Bardock stood there, dressed only in slightly tattered black pants, his scarred, muscled chest bare of any type of clothing or armor. Behind him stood the prince, also staring curiously at the newcomer. "Dad! What's going on?! _You_ kidnapped the _prince_?! And what's Kakarot doing here? And who's the kid with purple hair?" The questions tumbled out at random as the confused teenager looked from Trunks, to Kakarot, to Bardock, and to Vegeta. The three 'kidnappers' looked at each other, then back at Radditz. 

"Is he your son, grandpa?" Kakarot asked, turning quizzical eyes on Bardock. _Huh? Nani?! 'Grandpa'?!_

Bardock nodded. "Yeah. This is Radditz. Radditz, this is Goten. And that's Trunks and this is Prince Vegeta." The taller man pointed at each chibi in turn as he spoke their name. "Radditz, what are you doing here?" he asked again. 

In just a few short minutes, Radditz's world had been turned on end and nothing seemed to be what it should be anymore. Kakarot wasn't Kakarot anymore. He was Goten and he was Bardock's grandson? His father was a kidnapper? His prince didn't seem to mind being kidnapped. And Radditz had a headache. "The Vegeta-sei Government sent me after you," he said by way of explanation. "Father...?" 

"Yes?" 

"What the hell is going on here?" he begged more than demanded. 

Bardock frowned, then looked at the three chibis in his company. Sighing, he turned back to Radditz. "Why don't we have something to eat while I try to explain everything? It's a pretty long story," he suggested. Five Saiyan stomachs growled in fierce agreement with this plan. Radditz nodded cautiously as he stood up and dusted himself off, then followed the four over to where the slightly diminished mountain of food remained. 

"Trunks, this is sooo cool!" Kakarot - Goten? - exclaimed to the other boy who was, apparently, a close friend of his. "I've never had an uncle before! I hope he's lots of fun to play with!" 

"Yeah! Hey, maybe he can help us play pranks on people. That'd be great!" Trunks shot back, grinning widely. 

"Hey, Trunks, do you think Radditz will be like he was in our time? Niichan told me 'bout him coming to Earth and trying to kidnap him! An' Piccolo had to kill him and tousan!" 

"Umm.. I dunno. Isn't he younger now than he was then? Maybe he'll grow up differently in this time." Trunks mulled this over in his head, then smiled confidently. "Yeah, since Vegeta-sei didn't blow up and Frieza's not making them do bad stuff, I'm sure everything will be different!" 

Unsure if he really wanted to find out what they were talking about, Radditz decided to concentrate on simply eating for now. Full stomachs always helped Saiya-jin function better. Although he didn't recognize most of the things he was eating, it all tasted pretty good. He was about to try another dish, a strange, gelatinous substance the wiggled around in its bowl, when the Prince shook his head and shuddered at some internal thought. Shrugging, Radditz ignored him and downed the stuff in a few bites. It tasted fine to him, so he didn't know what Vegeta's problem with it was. 

The meal wound down as the last few crumbs were devoured and everyone sat back with contented looks on their faces. Radditz glanced at Goten and Trunks as the two boys crept off behind a cluster of boulders, talking to each other in low voices so as not to be heard. _Wonder what they're up to..._ he mused, then returned his attention to Bardock. "You said you'd explain what was going on," he said as a way of starting up the explanation he desperately wanted to hear. 

Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, his father eyed him warily. "This is probably going to sound crazy to you, but Goten and Trunks are from the future." He was right. It _did_ sound crazy. "Goten is Kakarot's son and Trunks is Vegeta's son." Two sentences and Radditz's eyes were already starting to glaze over in shock and disbelief. The older warrior continued, trying to ignore the bewildered expression on his son's face. Sometime during the long explanation, Vegeta became bored and wandered over to where Trunks and Goten were whispering secretively. Neither Bardock nor Radditz noticed the boys' absence, thoroughly engrossed in their conversation. 

~*~ 

When Radditz and Bardock finally finished talking, they noticed the lack of chibis around them and went looking for them. All three boys were curled up next to each other by the pile of rocks they'd been hiding behind. In the dirt there could be seen traces of what looked like words and pictures that had been hastily erased with a hand. All three were smiling in their sleep, with drool trickling from the corner of Goten's mouth. The youngest boy had one arm flung across Trunks' chest and the other holding tightly to one of the spikes in Vegeta's hair. Trunks was snoring softly, his own limbs sprawled out. And Vegeta... 

Radditz snickered at the sight of the mighty Prince of all Saiyans hugging - yes, _hugging _- Goten. He covered his mouth with one hand in an attempt to keep from bursting out with laughter. If Vegeta knew what he was doing in his sleep right now, he'd go ballistic! Looking over at his father, the teenage Saiyan realized that Bardock was having just as hard a time suppressing his laughter, so he decided to do them both a favor and grabbed Bardock by the arm, pulling him away from the cute yet laughable scene. 

"Kuso, I wish I could capture that image and preserve it somehow!" Bardock chortled. "Use it as blackmail in case Vegeta ever does something to annoy me." This set off another bout of laughter between father and son. Radditz was just as glad for the excuse to get his mind off of the bizarre explanations Bardock had recently finished giving him. It was just so hard to believe. Goten, his nephew, and Trunks, the son of Vegeta. The same Vegeta who was hugging the grandson of a 'third-class lowlife' like Bardock. Radditz grinned at the thought. "Anyway, it looks like those three decided that it's the equivalent of night time here. I don't really expect much trouble from any of the natives, but you and I should probably take turns keeping watch." 

Nodding, Radditz said, "I think I'd prefer to take the first watch. I have a lot to think about." Kami, was _that_ ever an understatement! "Good night, father." 

"Good night, Radditz." Bardock made himself as comfortable on a patch of grass as he could, then fell asleep with the ease that only warriors seemed to be capable of. Radditz watched him for a few minutes, then looked up to contemplate the invisible stars as his mind tried to sort through the twisted jumble of events and information of the past several hours. 

~*~ 

No! This is not yaoi! Don't even THINK about acusing me of writing yaoi! The scene with the chibis asleep together was meant to be _cute_, not yaoi! I know I didn't write it in any way to indicate it was yaoi, but I just _know_ that some sicko out there will interpret it as such. Once again, _this story will have _NO_ yaoi in it!!!_

Concerning the question I posed last time, let me clarify that when I decide who Bardock's love interest of the next story will be, it will either be Sereri or a new character. I will NOT have Bardock fall in love with Bulma, Chi-Chi, Bra, 18, Marron, Pan (YUCK!!!), or anything else like that. *sticks out her tongue* So don't ask me to. 

Tanti- You asked me to e-mail you. Sorry, no can do. You didn't leave an e-mail address to contact you at and your author profile doesn't have one available. How did you expect me to e-mail you? 

Once again, please review! I'm addicted to reviews! Must... have... reviews... *drools* *grins* 


	22. No Such Luck

I should hope that I don't need to repeat myself, but I will anyway. THIS IS NOT A YAOI FIC! Do not interpret anything in this story as yaoi! 

Disclaimer: *wracks her brains for something witty to say* Dang, I'm running a blank on ideas for disclaimers. Oh, well, guess I'll just have to resort to saying it plain and simple. I don't own DBZ. I'm not making money off of this fic. I don't even _have_ any money. So trying to sue me would be a waste of your time. ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(No Such Luck) 

_Just place that wire there... and switch that connection... perfect. Connect the visual input program to the memory chip.... Got it!_ Grinning with success, Bardock closed up Radditz's modified scouter and put away his tools. He placed it over one eye and pressed the button. _Time for a test run._ He pointed the device towards his sleeping son, then pressed another button that brought the modifications to life. _1...2...3... that should be long enough to make sure it's working._ He released the button and tapped a third one. A few moments later, he grinned again and turned the scouter off. _Great! It's working perfectly!_

Quietly making his way towards the sleeping chibis, he checked to see if they were still asleep. They were. Trunks now had Goten's tail in his mouth and was sucking the tip lightly, while Goten had turned in his sleep and was clinging to Vegeta, who was still hugging the black haired demi-saiyan. Bardock chuckled softly as he turned the scouter back on and pressed the 'record' button, holding it down for several long minutes. _I'll need to find someplace to store the data, or else it could be lost with a single ki blast. I'll have to keep this a secret until I can download it to a more permanent location. _Deciding he had enough footage to suit his purposes, he released the 'record' button and turned the scouter off. The scouter itself went into the capsule that had been emptied when they had eaten. The inside of a capsule was probably the safest place to store the device at this point, considering the destructive company he was keeping these days. _Now if I can just get Trunks to teach me how to use his ship's computer...._

Figuring that he had let them sleep long enough, Bardock shook Radditz awake. "I'm going to wake up the other kids," he said once his son had rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Thought you might like to watch." Radditz smirked when he glanced over at the children and nodded his gratitude. His father walked over to the pile of chibis and smiled cheerfully as he called out, "Time to wake up! Come on, we need to get going so we can find out what happened to the dragonballs!" 

All three boys groaned and stirred. Trunks was the first to truly wake up, sitting up groggily and wiping his eyes with one hand. He suddenly realized that he was holding Goten's tail in his other hand... and it was covered in his drool. Blushing in embarrassment, he swiftly thrust the appendage away and scrambled to his feet, hoping that no one had seen him. One look at Bardock and Radditz's grinning faces told him that he had no such luck. He blushed an even darker shade of red. 

The next to wake was the young prince Vegeta. He yawned widely and snuggled closer to the warm 'pillow' in his arms, not wanting to wake up just yet. However, when the 'pillow' wriggled and squeezed him in response, his eyes shot wide open in surprise and dismay. The pillow wasn't a pillow at all. It was Goten! He was hugging _Goten_! And Goten was hugging him back! He roughly shoved the boy away, or tried to. Unfortunately for the chibi prince, Goten was stronger than him even while he was sleeping and he was completely helpless to free himself from the other chibi's grip. To his horror, his struggles only caused the boy to tighten his hug and snuggle closer. Laughter from three different people alerted Vegeta to the fact that there were witnesses to this spectacle. He turned his head to find all three of the other Saiyans rolling on the ground, holding their sides as they laughed so hard it made tears come from their eyes. That was it. He _had_ to escape! 

"_Kisama!!!_" he growled loudly in Goten's ear. "Let me _go_, you baka third-class, half-breed, demon-spawn gaki!!" 

Goten's sleepy eyes opened halfway, focusing on Vegeta's furious black eyes. He smiled and mumbled. "Ohayoo, Veggie-chan." 

"Don't you 'ohayoo' me, you idiot! _Let! Me! GO!_ And _never_ call me Veggie-chan _again_!" the captive prince roared. His captor blinked and yawned, releasing Vegeta as he stretched. In the blink of an eye, Vegeta had rolled away from Goten to prevent a recurrence of the incident. He sat up and glared at Goten, growling deep in his throat. 

Bardock was regretting his decision to put away the scouter. _Kuso, I wish I had recorded that!_ He held his aching sides as he attempted to stop laughing. _But if I hadn't hidden the scouter, they might have realized what I was doing. Then they would have done everything they could to destroy it. Better to have something than nothing at all. Still, that was funny! I can hardly wait until it's safe to show them the recording... after I have copies safely stored somewhere else._ He grinned broadly, finally managing to gain control of himself. 

"Let's go see that Namek Elder you were talking about, Trunks," he said, drawing everyone's attention. "No point in putting it off any longer." They all quickly agreed and set off towards the nearby settlement where, they hoped, they would find some answers. 

~*~ 

It must have seemed really odd to the Nameks who were outside when a group of strange beings flew into their village and landed. One adult, one adolescent, and three children, all with brown, furry tails and black, spiky hair except for one of the children, who had purple hair. The Nameks and the strangers eyed each other warily until youngest of the aliens, the one who looked remarkably like the adult, ran forward and tugged on the hem of a Namek's shirt. "'Scuse me, sir, can you tell us where the Elder is?" he asked innocently. The Namekian smiled at the cute child. 

"Why do you wish to see the Elder, young one?" he asked curiously. 

The child smiled and tilted his head to one side. "We wanna ask him 'bout the dragonballs," he chirped. Several Nameks started murmuring at this comment. How did these strangers know about the dragonballs? And what did they want them for? Were they good, or evil? The child continued in his explanation, oblivious to the stir he was creating. "Y'see, our Dragon Radar isn't picking anything up so we wanna know if the dragonballs are sleeping or if our radar is broken. Me and Trunks need the dragonballs so we can get home." 

Having had no previous experience with Nameks, Bardock opted to let Goten and Trunks deal with interacting with the green and pink bipeds He watched with amusement as the Nameks talked amongst themselves. After several moments of soft discussion, the Namek that Goten had approached spoke up. "You do not need to ask the Elder about the condition of the dragonballs. Almost every Namek on this planet knows that the Eternal Dragon was summoned roughly seventy two hours ago. The dragonballs will remain dormant for another Namekian year." Goten wilted visibly at this answer, his shoulders and head sagging in defeat. "We are sorry," the Namek apologized. 

Bardock walked over to his grandson and picked him up, giving him a quick hug before setting him on his shoulders. "Thank you for your help," he said politely to the Nameks in general. They nodded their acknowledgment, then went back to their daily routine. The group of five Saiya-jin left the village in silence, heading back to where Radditz's ship had landed. 

When they were about half way there, Trunks suddenly blinked in surprise. "Why are we so upset?" he laughed. "There's still Earth's dragonballs!" There was a stunned moment of silence as this sank in, the Goten and Bardock grinned in unison. Radditz and Vegeta, who didn't have as big a stake in the matter, merely smiled faintly. "Come on," Trunks continued. "It takes about a week to get to Earth from here, so let's get started right away!" With a burst of speed brought on by enthusiasm, the purple haired demi-saiyan whooped and yelled happily as he soared through the air towards where Radditz's ship was. They would need to put the thing in a capsule so they didn't leave it lying around. They didn't know if there would ever be a need for a second ship, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Then it was off to space again, this time heading for the world that two of their number considered home. 

~*~ 

"So when do we do it?" Goten asked, looking from Trunks to Vegeta as the three huddled in the room they shared. Vegeta and Trunks wore identical smirks of anticipation. 

"Tonight," Vegeta pronounced confidently. "When they're both asleep." 

"Why tonight?" Trunks asked curiously. "We have a whole week before we get to Earth." 

"Because," his chibi-father explained. "If we do it tonight, we'll have the rest of the week to recover from any physical damage they inflict on us. You _do_ want to be as healthy as possible when we land on that planet, don't you?" 

"But if we want to be healthy, then why are we gonna do this in the first place?" Goten demanded in a puzzled tone. 

"Baka! Do you want to be bored for a whole week?" Trunks rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Sure, we can train with you grandpa and uncle, but that's no fun after a while." 

"Oooh," the youngest Saiyan said, a look of dawning comprehension in his eyes. "Sooo... what am I supposed to do again?" 

Father and son sweatdropped in unison, then rolled their eyes. "Baka, you're supposed to get the things we're going to use, remember? And you _do_ know where they are, right?" Trunks prodded his friend in the ribs with an elbow. Goten nodded eagerly, grinning with one hand behind his head. "Good. Vegeta, you're in charge of making sure the rooms are done as planned. I'll do the hard part, since I'm the strongest and I can suppress my ki. That reminds me, we need to teach you how to sense and hide ki. We'll do that later tomorrow." 

"But Truuunks!" Goten whined. "I wanna help you! Your part is the _fun_ part!" 

Vegeta frowned. The brat had a point. "I'm surprised to find myself saying this, but I agree with the kid." 

"I'm not a kid, Veggie-chan!" Goten protested. "An' you're only two years older than me! So if I'm a kid, you are too!" 

"You are a kid. I'm not because I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji," Vegeta stated imperiously. "That makes me more mature than my age." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "And don't call me Veggie-chan!" 

"Knock it off, you two," Trunks grumbled. "We need to get back to what's important. Goten, because you can hide your ki, you can help me. Okay?" The smallest chibi smiled happily and nodded. Trunks turned to the older boy. "Vegeta, you can watch, but you have to stay as far away from them as possible. Bardock can sense ki, so if you get too close, you might wake him up since you can't hide your ki." Vegeta nodded reluctantly, sighing. "Okay. Let's get started," he said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. 

Giggling mischievously, the trio of trouble makers continued making their plans for the upcoming prank they would pull that night. Trunks and Goten were pleased to have chibi Vegeta in their group. Pranks were always funnier when shared. And there was also something about safety in numbers. Vegeta himself was pleased to be in on this joke for more than one reason. For one, it was a way to find out more about his future son. He had to admit, the boy definitely took after his father. What they were planning was nothing short of devious, and it had mostly been Trunks's idea. The other major reason he was glad to be a part of this was that it beat being bored for the whole trip and it was just plain entertaining. He could hardly wait to see Bardock's and Radditz's faces when they woke up! 

~*~ 

Hee hee! What are those three planning? Anyone care to take a guess? I only have a vague idea myself, so guesses and suggestions would be appreciated. ^_^ Evil is good. Veeery good. *smirks* 

For all of you who really thought that I would _not_ be taking the gang to Earth... You really thought that I would miss such a great opportunity?! Of _course_ I'm taking them to Earth! And, yes, they _will_ meet various important characters in the past. *grins* Don't ask me for details, 'cause I don't know for certain myself. You can give me suggestions if you want. ^_^ 

Once again, thanks to all my reviewers for supporting me in this story! Now go and review again! *laughs* ^_^ (Demanding author, ain't I? *winks*) 

**_Story Advertising!_**

Okay, this story isn't really about Bardock, but he's in it! *cheers* Read "The Book Of Destinies" by angel out of time, storyid: 353112. Something has gone wrong with the course of time, contradicting the Book of Destinies, and if it's not fixed, the universe itself will collapse! It's a Bulma and Vegeta get-together, except this time they don't meet on Earth. They meet in the afterlife! My summary really can't do this story justice. Just go read it. ^_^ 


	23. Midnight Mayhem

Once again, THIS IS NOT A YAOI FIC! Anything that resembles yaoi is there ONLY for the purpose of humor and cuteness. 

Congrats to ChibiChibi for being reviewer number 400. ^_^ Sorry, you don't get anything special. It's too soon for another Review Special. You only get a bit of recognition and fame. ^_^ 

Special thanks to Frozenflower for beta reading this chapter. Arigato gozaimasu! 

Disclaimer: I may not own it now, I may not own it tomorrow, I may not own it next year, but someday I _will_ own DBZ!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!! *maniacal laughter* Until then, it belongs to Akira Toriyama, the lucky guy. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Midnight Mayhem) 

It was night time on board the ship, the lights were dimmed in the hallway, casting deep shadows everywhere. The silence was only broken by the ominous whirs and hum of machinery, and by the faint sounds of suppressed giggles. A small clatter echoed loudly as something was accidentally dropped, followed by several shushing noises. Then silence reigned once more. 

With stealth born of the desire to live long enough to complete their mission, the three chibis snuck into the room where Bardock and Radditz slept, each carrying an armful of materials. Trunks nodded to Vegeta and Goten as they all set about their tasks. The lilac haired boy crept over to Bardock, pushing his ki down as far as it would go, and climbed onto the bunk where the warrior snored softly, a blanket draped over the lower half of his body. One arm and leg hung over the edge of the bed and his pillow had somehow ended up underneath his feet. Goten moved towards his uncle, eyeing the mass of hair that was the most visible part of the teenager who was sleeping on his stomach, face turned turned to the wall. Vegeta began setting aside certain objects in preparation for his part of the plan. 

_I am _not_ afraid of jello_, Vegeta scolded himself firmly. _It is an inanimate object and can do me no harm._ He pulled out a bowl of jello, a vibrant shade of green rather than the red of his last encounter. _It isn't alive. It isn't alive. It. Is. Not. Alive. _He whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut despite himself and reached a hand into the slimy gelatin, cringing instinctively as he half expected to be absorbed then and there. Nothing happened, so he retracted his hand, holding a quivering blob of the lime-flavored dessert as he pulled Radditz's Saiyan armor away from the teen's bed where it had been discarded. He smirked at his triumph over the villainous dessert and slathered it inside the armor where it couldn't be seen, refraining from letting loose with an evil cackle. He didn't want to be anywhere near Radditz when the teen donned his armor tomorrow morning! 

Trunks held his breath for a few tense moments as Bardock mumbled something in his sleep that sounded like 'celery', then slowly exhaled as the warrior settled back into his dream. Grinning broadly, he opened the tube of super glue that he had found in the tool cabinet earlier that day. This was the hard part. He cautiously dabbed a few spots of the stuff onto Bardock's bare chest, then pulled a few feathers from a pillow he had torn open. Before the glue had a chance to dry, he carefully placed a few feathers on each spot, then proceeded to dab more glue on. Within a few minutes, Bardock's chest was covered in feathers and Trunks was fighting a bout of giggles. He froze when his victim suddenly reached a hand up and scratched his neck. _Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up._ He silently prayed as he watched the man scratch the momentary itch, then relaxed when Bardock's hand dropped back to his side. Not wasting a moment, the chibi started on his next task. He slowly lifted Bardock's tail, touching it as lightly as possible. He knew from experience that the things were hyper sensitive, but it was too tempting to resist including it in the joke. Picking up a paint brush, he dipped it in a bottle of the same kind of dye that he and Goten had used on Bardock's shirt, then deftly stroked the liquid onto the brown fur of the Saiyan's tail. To his amusement, Bardock smiled in his sleep and started purring in pleasure. Another murmur of 'celery' and the warrior reached out and pulled Trunks to his feathered chest in a passionate embrace. 

Panic was quickly gripping the boy's mind as the victim of his prank started trying to kiss him. _What the hell is he _doing_?!_ his mind screamed. He squeaked in mortification as Bardock started nuzzling his ear, murmuring incoherently. He couldn't move. He didn't dare try to pull from the embrace for fear of waking Bardock. That would be bad. Really bad. "Goten!" he whispered, his voice cracking slightly. "Help!" Even as softly as he spoke, his captor still noticed it in his sleep. 

"Don' worry, celery," he mumbled. "I'm here. Love you so much." Bardock kissed Trunks tenderly on his forehead and tightened his grip protectively. Trunks was nearly in tears as terror and humiliation swirled around inside him. Bardock was _kissing_ him! And hugging him! And... and... who knows what might happen next if he didn't escape _soon_! 

Goten looked up from what he was doing - he had been dying Radditz's tail pink, too - and nearly burst out laughing at his friend's plight. Vegeta, too, paused in his task of... painting... the walls when he heard Trunks's plea. He eyed his future son and smirked evilly. There wasn't anything _he_ could do about it, since he couldn't suppress his ki yet, so he might as well enjoy it while it lasted. Goten, however, quickly came to his friend's rescue. Stifling a giggle, he gently pried Bardock's arms away from Trunks enough so that the other demi-saiyan could wriggle free of his captor's embrace. The lavender haired boy nearly sobbed with relief and looked at Goten gratefully, unspoken thanks in his blue eyes. Goten smiled and hopped off the bed, headed back to finish his own job. Bardock muttered dicontentedly as his hands groped blindly for his lost 'celery'. 

Glaring at Bardock, Trunks once again picked up his brush and started to streak the warrior's black hair with the pink dye. Originally, they had agreed not to dye either Bardock's or Radditz's hair, but he was feeling vengeful. He sat back slightly with satisfaction as he studied the now black-and-pink streaked spikes of hair that Bardock sported, somehow reminiscent of Gotenks's hair when he was untransformed. That would have to do. He didn't want to remain this close to Bardock any longer than necessary. Especially not after what had just happened. He quickly got off the bed and glanced at Goten and Vegeta to see how they were coming along. Vegeta was done with his 'redecoration' of the room and now stood observing Radditz and Bardock, and Goten had nearly finished squirting the whipped cream into Radditz's hair. Trunks grinned broadly as the other chibi started putting brightly colored candy sprinkles on the white stuff, then placed a single cherry on top. _Hee hee. He looks like an ice cream cone now!_ Which was, of course, what they had intended. 

Finishing what he was doing, Goten crawled off the bed and joined Trunks and Vegeta by the door. The three boys looked at each other and grinned identical, evil grins. It was time for the final part of their joke. Trunks pulled out a Polaroid camera and started snapping off a whole role of film, taking pictures of the scene in general and close-ups of both Bardock and Radditz. Too bad they wouldn't be around to take pictures of when the two actually woke up! Hastily gathering the pictures and their supplies, the three chibis ran out of the room, eager to celebrate their newest conquest. 

~*~ 

Consciousness slowly dawned on Bardock, gradually shifting him from dreams to reality. And what pleasant dreams they had been! Sighing happily, he recalled the warm feelings that the dreams of Sereri had left him with. It had almost felt like she was really there in the bed with him, her firm, smooth fighter's body pressed against his. _Too bad it was only a dream, _he thought sadly. _Kami, I miss her so much._

Yawning widely, he stretched and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. _Wow. I feel really good this morning. I don't think I've slept so well in... well, ages! Not since Sereri died, anyway._ Determined not to dwell on what was lost, he reached a hand blindly towards the floor, groping for his pants. Finding them, he started to pull them on. 

_Squish._

Cold, wet, sliminess met his legs and he stared down at the black pants that he had pulled on half way before he stopped. What looked suspiciously like green jello was leaking out the tears in the fabric, pooling on the floor. It was then that he finally noticed that the room had been trashed sometime during the night. Toilet paper hung from everywhere, glitter and confetti lay heavily on the floor, and someone had painted the word 'baka' in blue toothpaste with large, elaborate letters all over the walls and floor. His eyes widened when he looked at his sleeping son and he couldn't help but laugh, forgetting about the jello filled pants he was sitting in. Radditz's tail was _pink!_ And whoever had dyed it had been rather sloppy about it, dripping the dye into the Saiyan teen's mass of black hair, leaving behind spots of pink on most of the black spikes of hair. On top of that, from what Bardock could see, his son's arms now sported _feathers_ in several patches. He clutched at his chest as he laughed even harder in an attempt to prevent himself from hyperventilating. 

His laughter abruptly stopped as his fingers came in contact with something they shouldn't. Instead of smooth, rippling muscles, he encountered... feathers. Soft, small, fluffy, white feathers. He stared at his chest in horror and tried to rub the things off, but they remained firmly attached. He tried to pull one off, but yelped when it came free, along with a small bit of skin. His tail began lashing furiously as the connection between each thing clicked in place. The lashing tail drew his attention as he realized that it was no longer a solid brown color. Instead, it was a mottled pink and brown, as though someone had started to stroke paint onto his tail, but had been interrupted. He lifted the tail and stared at it blankly for a moment, then suddenly noticed that he was growling. 

"Kiiisaaamaaaa!!!" 

Radditz, startled out of sleep by his father's angry snarl, bolted upright, looking around frantically for the source of danger. When he spotted Bardock, he started laughing his head off. "F-father! Wha-hahaha what happened to you?! Your tail! Your chest! Your _hair!!!_ Hahahaha!!!" He was laughing so hard that he fell out of bed and landed on the floor in a pile of fallen whipped cream. Unfazed, he kept on laughing. 

"Don't laugh too hard until you've seen yourself, Radditz," Bardock growled as he removed his jello-filled pants and headed for the bathroom to see what had been done to his hair. He didn't see Radditz's reaction, but he certainly heard the baleful snarl his son gave. One look in the mirror was enough for Bardock to entertain pleasant fantasies of torture and revenge. "Those kids are dead," he stated with deadly calm, his eyes flashing as he turned towards Radditz. 

Wearing nothing but their underwear and, in Radditz's case, the whipped cream and sprinkles in his hair that was quickly falling like multicolored rain onto the floor, the two furious Saiyans departed from their room and began their new favorite sport. Chibi hunting. 

~*~ 

"We're gonna die!" Goten moaned. "My grandpa and Uncle Radditz are gonna kill us!" He clutched his head in his hands and whimpered softly. They had been listening to the sounds of Bardock and Radditz waking up and discovering their condition for the past fifteen minutes and could now sense them making their way through the ship. 

"Shhhh!!! We _will_ die if you keep making noise and give our location away, you idiot!" Trunks hissed angrily. "Just be quiet and maybe they won't find us." 

"Both of you be quiet!" Vegeta growled softly. 

It suddenly dawned on Trunks with a sickening certainty that they were already doomed. _Oh man! Vegeta's with us! And he can't suppress his ki!!_

No sooner had the panicked thought entered his mind than the door of the kitchen cupboard they were hiding in swung open, revealing the vengeful faces of their most recent victims. "Hello, kids," Bardock smirked as his hands darted in and grabbed Trunks and Goten by the collars of their shirts. Radditz plucked Vegeta out, glaring daggers at his prince. The look was so venomous that the chibi prince completely forgot that he was the stronger of the two. Likewise, both Goten and Trunks wilted under Bardock's angry stare, never even thinking about breaking free and running. All three children gulped and stared at their captors in wide eyed, petrified terror. 

"H-hi, grandpa," Goten stammered, giving his grandpa the best Son Puppy Dog Eyes (TM) he could manage. Bardock smiled broadly and set Goten down on the floor, letting go of his shirt. The chibi heaved a sigh of relief... until he saw the look in Bardock's eyes. What Goten had at first taken to be a gentle smile on his grandfather's face was, in reality, a cocky, evil smile, made worse by the glint of deadly seriousness in his eyes. It sent chills down Goten's spine. 

Bardock used his now-free hand to search through Trunks's pockets until he came up with the capsule case that he kept all the capsules in. He pocketed the container and picked Goten up again, nodded at Radditz to bring Vegeta and follow him. As they headed back to the room, Bardock stated in a slightly angry, firm voice, "You three will be cleaning up the mess you made in our room. _All_ of it. Including my pants and any other clothing you did anything to." He and Radditz deposited them at the scene of the crime. Before the three could bless their good fortune in having such a lenient punishment, Bardock made his final, and worst, pronouncement. "And you will not be having breakfast, either." 

No breakfast?! Now it became clear why Bardock had taken the capsules from Trunks. He was making sure that they wouldn't be able to eat breakfast! Missing even one meal was almost a fate worse than death for a Saiyan. The three chibis stared at Bardock in horror and suffering at the mere thought of having to wait _hours_ before their next meal. 

With a final, vindictive glare at the culprits, Radditz and Bardock left, closing the door behind them. 

"Come on, Radditz. After we take a shower, I want to show you something," Bardock muttered in a low voice. "Trunks showed me how to use the computer before we went to bed. There's some data I used your scouter to record that you should find... interesting." The tone in his father's voice immediately caught Radditz's attention and he smirked in response. Whatever it was, it was bound to be good. 

Bardock continued to smirk to himself as he headed for the kids' bathroom, intending to take a nice, hot shower and maybe see if he could find something to salvage his hair and tail. _I knew that I'd need that recording soon. Just you three wait. I have yet to exact my full revenge!_ He cackled inwardly and continued plotting vengeance silently. 

~*~ 

I haven't been picking on Trunks enough in my story. Or Radditz, for that matter, but he's only been introduced recently, so he doesn't count. I think this chapter goes a long way towards rectifying the matter. ^_^ 

No, you hentais! Bardock and Radditz are _not_ running around naked! Just in their underwear. ^_^ *giggles* 

Okay, once again, I want reader opinions! Answer intelligently, please. Should I keep Bardock's and Radditz's tails and hair with the added pink? Or should I take pity on them and find some brown and black hair dye? 

Review and tell me what you think of this chapter! It's my hope that it even rivalled the jello scene. But I'll leave that up to you guys to decide. ^_^ 


	24. Pink Resolution

I'm tired of people asking me what certain Japanese words mean, or nit-picking about how I spell my Japanese words. There is no one correct way to spell in romanji! Because Japanese is a symbolic (that the right word?) language and English is an alphabetical language, Japanese can only be converted phonetically, which means there are often multiple spellings of the same word in romanji. But if you still wish to nit-pick or you're just plain interested in knowing what the words I use mean, go to www.writersu.s5.com/fl/japanese.html . It isn't a big dictionary of words, just the most commonly used words/phrases/suffixes/etc. incorporated in fan fiction. This is where I get most of my Japanese words and spellings, so if you have a problem with anything, talk to the makers of that site, not me. 

Disclaimer: *wearing a black body suit and ski-mask* *makes off with DBZ and all its characters* DBZ is mine now! Hahaha!! And now I own all the characters! Bardock, Gohan, Trunks... *drool* 

Trunks: *gasps in alarm* Hey! Since when did Bardock move to the top of the list?! 

Brenda: *sweatdrops* Since I decided I liked his spiky hair! And his muscles. And the fact that he runs around in a towl or in underwear for various chapters in my story. *grins and drools* 

Gohan: It's not fair! We're not allowed to be in this fic! How can we compete with him? 

Brenda: *sniffs indignantly* You can't. That's what's so great about him. But, hey, if it's any consolation to you, Gohan, you _might_ be in the next story. Dunno about you, though, Trunks. The next story will take place in the regular timeline, and you abandoned us and live in the Mirai timeline now, so you might not show at all. *sniffles* 

Trunks: But you're the author! You can make anything happen! 

Brenda: True.... I'll have to think about it. *smiles happily and starts daydreaming up ways to get Mirai Trunks in the next story* But it will only happen if I can make it feasible. 

(A/N: No, I was _not_ serious when I said I stole DBZ and the characters. I own neither, so don't sue me!) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Pink Resolution) 

Even after a shower had removed the jello and much of the stress of the morning's events, Bardock was still angry with the chibis. That probably had to do with the fact that his hair and tail remained with their new pink streaks despite everything he tried. Without being able to read the labels on the bottles in the bathroom, he didn't dare use any of the liquids for fear that they might do something even worse. He'd have to ask Trunks or Goten what each one was. _After_ they finished cleaning up the room. 

Lacking any clean clothing to wear at the moment, he settled for wrapping a towel around his waist, then headed for the control room. He smirked. It was time to see if he could convert that image file into hard copies. 

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, realizing what he was doing. _I'm as bad as the kids are!_ he noted in surprise. _They play a joke on me, I get revenge, they get revenge for my revenge.... this could go on forever._ Frowning in thought, he opened the door to the control room. _You're the only adult here, Bardock,_ he told himself firmly. _What kind of an example are you setting, anyway? These kids look up to you, so maybe you should act a little more mature than you have been lately._ He sat down in front of a console and stared at the blank screen for several long moments before finally reaching into his pocket and pulling out the capsule that held Radditz's scouter. Smiling faintly, he decapsulized it and began the process of copying the memory from the scouter to the ship's system. 

_Not for revenge, _he mused wistfully. _For... remembrance. After they're gone, this may be the only thing I have left to remember Trunks and Goten by._ He stared off into space as the computer read and copied the scouter's memory, his anger completely forgotten. "How many more friends and loved ones will I lose before I die?" he asked sadly. Silence was his only answer. 

~*~ 

When Radditz had finished cleaning up, he joined his father in the control room. Noting the fact that Bardock looked depressed, the teenager sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong, father?" he asked with concern. 

"Nothing," Bardock replied, shaking his head sadly. "I was just thinking about your mother. And about my team mates. I know I shouldn't dwell on the past, but sometimes I just can't help it." Voice filling with the pain of loss, the warrior stared at some distant point that only he could see. "I dreamed about her last night," he said suddenly. "Dreamed that your mother came back to me. I haven't felt so happy since she died. Then I woke up and realized it was only a dream." He turned his head in an attempt to hide his pain from his son. Tears were forming in his eyes, a fact that made him angry with himself. Warriors were not supposed to cry, especially not in front of others. 

Being only a teenager, and one who had not spent a large amount of time with his father, Radditz was at a loss as to what to do in this situation. He missed Sereri, too, but he knew that it was nothing compared to what his father had gone through the day that she had died. He sat in silence, unable to offer the kind of comfort that Bardock needed right now, but unwilling to abandon him, either. 

After a few moments like this, Bardock sighed and hit a few buttons on the console, bringing up an image on the computer screen. "This is what I wanted to show you," he said affectionately, seeming to have put aside the grief he had been feeling only moments ago. Radditz glanced at the screen and grinned as he recognized the scene from yesterday morning, Trunks sucking on Goten's tail while Goten and Vegeta hugged in their sleep. "I was going to use it to 'get even' with them, but I think maybe we should just forgive them once their punishment is over. Besides, if they knew that I had a video of them like this, they'd do everything they could to destroy it, and I think I want to keep this after their gone." 

A moment of uncomfortable silence ensued as Radditz squirmed in his seat. "But... they dyed our hair and tails _pink!_" 

"I know," Bardock smiled faintly. "But do you really want to spend the rest of the trip trying to get back at them for things they do to us? Because that's what will happen if we keep up this cycle of pranks and revenge." 

"........ good point." Radditz did _not_ want to think about what else might happen to him if he was the victim of anymore pranks. 

~*~ 

"Truunks, I'm hungry!" Goten sniffled as he washed the last of the lime jello from his grandfather's pants. He wasn't exactly the best clothes washer there was, but he figured that soap and hot water in the tub was enough to make it wearable. Draining the tub, he rinsed the garment out and hung it on the towel rack to dry. "Do you think grandpa will let us eat yet?" 

"Probably not," Trunks answered glumly. "We've only been in here about three hours, so that means we have another two hours to wait." He had just finished mopping up the last traces of whipped cream from the floor, trying to ignore the loud noises his stomach was making. He briefly considered eating it, but quickly discarded the idea. After all, it had been sitting in Radditz's hair. Surveying the room, he noted with a little pride that it looked as good as it had before their midnight escapade. Maybe better. All remnants of toothpaste, glitter, whipped cream, sprinkles and jello had vanished, courtesy of the three chibis ministrations. 

"But I'm sooo hungry," the youngest chibi complained with a hand on his stomach, moving aside as Vegeta took his place at the bath rub, scrubbing Radditz's armor clean. 

"We all are, you baka," the prince grumbled. "Complaining about it won't help, so why don't you shut up?" The words were said without any real heat behind them. Despite the fact that he was hungry, he wasn't taking his temper out on his new friends, much to their surprise. They were, after all, used to the perpetually angry Saiya-jin no Ouji of the future who displeased with almost everything and not afraid to let everyone know it. 

"Do you think apologizing would do any good?" Goten asked hopefully. "Maybe if we said we were sorry then grandpa would let us eat." 

"It's be a good start," an amused voice said from the doorway. Trunks and Goten looked up to find Bardock's pink-and-black head poking into the room, followed shortly by the rest of him. "But I'm still going to hold firm on your punishment. No food until lunch time. What you three did was wrong, and you need to learn the consequences of your actions." A snort and barely heard mutter of 'Saiya-jin no Ouji' came from the bathroom where Vegeta was still cleaning Radditz's armor. Bardock ignored him and went on. "What I came in here for was to ask if either of you knew if there's any black or brown dye on this ship." He lifted an eyebrow questioningly as both chibis glanced at each other, then guiltily studied the floor. 

"Umm... we could only find pink," Goten mumbled, his tail curling around his leg in an unconscious act of guilt. _They're hiding something,_ Bardock thought. _Something they don't want me to find out._

"By the way, how long does it take for this stuff to wash out?" he asked suspiciously. Wen both boys gulped and seemed to shrink visibly beneath his gaze, he nodded to himself. They _had_ been hiding something from him. 

"It... it doesn't wash out, Bardock-san," Trunks muttered, barely loud enough to hear. "It's permanent." Both chibis looked up at him with a mix of shame and fear, half expecting him to be infuriated. To their surprise, the only emotion showing on Bardock's face was resign. And maybe a flicker of embarrassment as he thought about going the rest of his days with pink streaks in his hair and on his tail. 

"There's nothing that can be done about it now," he explained, seeing their confusion at his lack of a reaction. "Getting angry with you won't do any good. I suppose," he added, chuckling slightly, "that I should be grateful you didn't destroy my pants instead of filling them with jello. I'm not exactly keen on the idea of going to Earth in nothing by my underwear." The image that brought to mind brought smiles to the faces of the two kids. "Speaking of which, are they clean yet?" 

"Hai, but they're still wet." 

"I see," Bardock sighed. Looking around the room, he noticed that it had been restored to order and he smiled again. "You boys did a good job on cleaning up." He was about to turn around and leave when Trunks stopped him. 

"Bardock-san, wait!" Bardock looked back over his shoulder at the lavender haired boy. "When we were cleaning, I found a shirt my dad used to wear," Trunks said, scuffing the floor with one foot in embarrassment. "I thought maybe you'd like to wear it, since you don't have a shirt." He ran over to the closet and pulled out a large, pale pink button-up shirt with the word BADMAN written on the back which he held out to Bardock. Vegeta, hearing his Mirai self being talked about, poked his head out of the bathroom to see this shirt his counterpart supposedly wore. 

"Nande kuso?! I would _never_ wear a pink shirt!" he fumed. "How dare you accuse me, even an alternate me, of wearing an abomination such as that!" 

"Yeah, dad doesn't like it either," Trunks laughed. "Which is probably why it was in this ship in the first place. Mom thinks he looks cute in it, so she's always trying to get him to wear it. I guess he though the inside of a capsule space ship was the best place to hide it." 

The image of a grown-up Vegeta wearing a pink BADMAN shirt was just too funny. Bardock chuckled and took the shirt from Trunks. "Well, I don't exactly have anything else to wear, and since it'll go great with my new hair, I'll wear it for now," he joked, slipping the thing on, though leaving it unbuttoned. "Now if only your dad had left some pants, as well." 

"Hee hee, even if he did, you couldn't wear them," Goten giggled. "Vegeta-san is too short." 

"You mean I'm still short when I grow up?!" Vegeta was horrified. It was bad enough to be short when you were young. To be a short Saiya-jin no Ouji when he was older would be even worse! "Shimatta...." 

~*~ 

The rest of the week went by fairly quickly. Goten, Trunks, and sometimes Bardock taught Radditz and Vegeta how to sense and suppress ki. Because there was no training room, though, they weren't able to do much serious training. Not unless they wanted to run the risk of blowing a hole in the side of the ship. Radditz, unlike his father, had been furious when he had found out that the pink dye in his hair was permanent, enough so that Bardock had to physically restrain the teenager from attacking the three chibis. He'd calmed down only when Bardock had reasoned that they would probably be able to find some hair dye to remedy the problem once they landed on Earth, since that was, after all, the planet that had created the pink dye that had caused all this trouble in the first place. 

Now they all gathered in the control room, staring in awe at the beauty of a blue, green, and white orb that hung in the vast expanse of space like a precious jewel. They were finally there. Earth. A world that had given birth to two of the five on board that ship. A world where, in another time, one of the five had died, and another now lived with his family. A world where a remarkable boy had lost all memory of his race and had been raised by a kindly old martial artist by the name of Son Gohan. In less than an hour they would land on this planet known as Chikyuu, and begin a new adventure. 

~*~ 

This chapter is really just a filler chapter. I would have skipped it entirely and gone straight to the next one, except that I had to bring a semi-closure to the whole pink incident. ^_^ Next chapter should be more interesting, though. *grins* 

I'll warn you now. Next chapter will take a HUUUUGE departure from the original Dragonball timeline. I'll probably have to write a big long explanation for exactly how it differs and why, but I'll save that for next time. Chalk it up to Alternate Universe and don't complain. It's intended to make the story more interesting. ^_^ 

Please review! Ideas from reviewers are one of the leading preventatives of writer's block! *grins* So help prevent writer's block and give me all the suggestions, ideas, praise, etc. you can think of! ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

Many of you have probably already read this story, but not everyone has. It's one of the best DBZ fan fics out there, in my opinion. Read "Dominion: Reprise" by SSJ Trinity. The dragonballs are gone, and Dende with them. Something is destroying all of the realities that exist, and a new threat comes to Earth, determined to stop it. No matter the cost to anyone. I can't really summarize this epic story well, so just go read it and find out for yourself how great it is! 


	25. Important AU Explanation

**_Important Author Explanation_**

Next chapter I will be taking a very large departure from the Dragonball timeline. In order to avoid confusion, I am explaining the necessary differences here. I do not know Dragonball nearly so well as I know Dragonball Z! I'm a poor dubbie victim, and the bakas at FUNImation are slow in releasing new episodes. My knowledge of Dragonball ends where they left off in the second search for the dragonballs and the fight against the Red Ribbon Army. Even that knowledge is sketchy because I haven't been watching the reruns for a while. You may inform me of any mistakes I've made, but I may very well just conveniently ignore you. ^_^ 

I realized that I would need to depart from the timeline for two reasons. One was that it would make things more interesting. The other was that things would become very messed up if I didn't. Imagine if Bardock and the gang get Goku's four star dragonball before Bulma ever meets him. That dragonball is the only reason she ever meets up with him in the first place. Once the wish was made, the dragonballs would scatter all over the Earth. Goku would be unable to retrieve his beloved "grandpa Gohan" because he would need the Dragon Radar (which he doesn't even know exists) and he would never have a radar without meeting Bulma, who would never meet him because he had no dragonball. I'm going in circles now, aren't I? *grins* Anyway, you see the dilemma. Changes were in order, and so I changed a few things to make it more convenient for me. ^_^ 

**Ages of important people in the past:**   
Goten- 8   
Trunks- 9   
Vegeta- 10   
Radditz- 15   
Bardock- 33   
Bulma- 11   
Yamcha- 12   
Goku- 7   
Krillen- 8   
Chi-Chi- 7   
Master Roshi- No one knows anyway, but he's still a perverted old geezer.   
If there's anyone else that appears, I'll give their age in the chapter they appear in. 

**Important information about various characters/events.**   
The rest of this story that happens on the Earth of the past will occur immediately _after_ Goku lost in the Tenkaichi Budokai to Jackie Chun. Goku has gone off in search of the four star dragonball. Yamcha and Bulma are not boyfriend and girlfriend. Just friends. Krillen has rejoined Master Roshi and is currently training with him. 

Bulma: Even though she's only 11, she still tries to be as beautiful as possible and ogles men. Instead of trying to wish for the 'perfect boyfriend', however, she only wanted the 'perfect friend'. Seeing as how Oolong used the wish to get a pair of panties, she settled instead for Yamcha. She may be young, but she is still a genius capable of inventing many things, including the Dragon Radar and hoi poi capsules. Other than that, same old temper and personality (though I might change her just a little bit due to the fact that she _is_ younger.) 

Pilaf and the Red Ribbon Army may not even appear in this story. I may not even acknowledge their existence. It all depends on how I'm feeling. 

Yes, Chi-Chi is still quite intent on someday marrying Goku. 

I'm going to consider Goku and Goten to be exactly identical, despite the 1 year age difference. 

The dragonballs will _not_ be in the same places that they were in the second dragonball hunt of the Dragonball series. 

I may think of something else later, but for now, assume that everyone and everything else is the same as always. It all just happened when they were younger. 

That's it for now! Ja! 


	26. Family Reunion

If you didn't read the Important Author Explanation in section 26, **_D O I T N O W!!!_** I refuse to explain anything to bakas who didn't bother to read it! I put information there that is very important in understanding the rest of this story. If you don't read it and ask questions that I already answered there, you'll only make me very angry with you and make yourself look like an idiot. 

Yes, I KNOW I have departed from the Dragonball timeline. I KNOW Goku is supposed to be an infant. I KNOW I've messed up some people's ages. *waves a big sign that says ALTERNATE UNIVERSE* I did this because, one, I don't know enough to get it exactly right and, two, it was too inconvenient to keep them their correct ages! 

**Imp. Auth. Expl. continued...**   
**Goku was still sent to Earth as an infant. That means that he was sent several years before Frieza's attack on Vegeta-sei. I will _not_ explain why until later in another chapter. I am well aware that this isn't how it happened. Just pretend that Goten and Trunks ended up in a timeline that was more different from theirs than they realized.**

A/N: For you dubbies out there, Kinto'un is the Flying Nimbus. I don't like the name Flying Nimbus, so I'm using Kinto'un. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: *writes this after she finishes the chapter* Don't own DBZ. Now go 'way an' lemme sleep. *falls asleep with her head on the keyboard* *drools on the keys* Mmmm... Bardock.... zzzzZZZzzz..... 

(A/N: *sweatdrop* Don't ask.) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Family Reunion) 

Goku was excited. He had just had the time of his life, fighting against the most powerful fighters in the world at the Tenkaichi Budokai and now he was off on another adventure. The dragonballs had regenerated by this time, which meant he would be able to find the four star dragonball that his grandfather had left him. With the aid of Bulma's Dragon Radar, he was sure to find it in a relatively short amount of time. Not that he cared how long it took him. After all, the journey is half the fun of getting somewhere. In the meantime, he simply enjoyed the feeling of riding Kinto'un, the wind rushing through his spiky black hair, the sights, scents, and sounds of the world, everything. For the monkey-tailed boy, life couldn't be more perfect. 

Down below, something interesting caught his eye. It was one of those funny things that Bulma liked to make, a car or an airplane or something, but it was a lot bigger than any he had ridden in yet. Except maybe the plane he'd ridden in to get to the Tenkaichi Budokai. He couldn't really be certain. But that wasn't what caught his interest. There were two boys outside the vehicle playing what looked to be a rather intense game of tag. And they were _flying!_ Without a magic cloud or anything! If Goku had been excited before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. Deciding that his dragonball hunt could be delayed for a while, he directed Kinto'un over to where the two boys were playing, determined to satisfy his curiosity, and perhaps learn how they knew how to fly. 

~*~ 

"Hey, Trunks, d'ya think my grandpa has gotten Vegeta and Uncle Radditz up yet?" Goten asked, hovering in mid air. Their landing on Earth had been rather rough and Vegeta and Radditz had somehow been knocked out cold. The rough landing probably had something to do with the fact that Goten and Trunks had gotten bored waiting for the ship to land and had started up a game of tag. During the game, they had accidentally crashed into a computer console, sending sparks everywhere and causing the ship to plummet like a rock. While the two culprits had somehow managed to come out relatively unscathed, Bardock now sported a few bruises and the other two boys were unconscious. The older warrior had sent Trunks and Goten outside to play as a way to keep them out of his hair while he tended to the other two victims of the crash. His only instructions to them had been to stay close so that he could find them when it was time to start their search. 

"I dunno, Goten. I think I can feel Vegeta's ki moving around, but your uncle's not moving at all. I'll go inside and check, 'kay?" Goten nodded, and Trunks darted inside the ship. The game of tag had gotten boring, so both chibis were eager to leave. He sighed and fiddled with his tail, waiting for his friend to come back. 

"Ossu!" a cheery voice called out from behind Goten, startling him. He had been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed the small ki come up close to him. He turned around to see who it was and found himself facing a boy in an orange gi riding a yellow cloud. His eyes widened in surprise as he noted the other boy's tail. "I'm Son Goku! What's your name?" Goku asked, oblivious to the fact that the boy he was talking to could be a mirror image of himself. 

_Tousan? This is my daddy when he was little! Wow! This is sooo cool!_ Goten blinked and focused on his look-alike. "I'm Son Goten," he greeted, smiling broadly. _I get to meet my dad when he was little, like Trunks got to meet his dad! This could be lots of fun!_

"Really? Wow! We have the same family name!" Goku crowed in delight. He glanced at what Goten was holding in his hands and his eyes widened. "Hey! You have a tail like me! I thought I was the only one who had a tail, 'cause everyone I've met doesn't have one. Hey, do you think we're related or something? I mean, we both have tails and our names are alike!" 

"Umm...." Goten hesitated, suddenly unsure of what to say. _Should I tell him I'm his son?_ He placed his hand behind his head sheepishly, trying to think of what to say. In the end, it didn't matter. Goku continued chattering on without waiting for an answer to his question.   
  
"You can fly! That's so neat! I can only jump real high, but Kinto'un can fly and it lets me ride on it." The seven year old was ecstatic about finding such an interesting friend and perhaps a long lost family member all in the same day. 

His earlier trepidation forgotten, Goten grinned. He knew all about Kinto'un, since the little cloud was something like a friend of the family. He had ridden the magical thing many times himself, before Gohan had taught him how to fly. "Can I ride it?" he asked, trying to be polite. 

"Well, sure, you can try," Goku chirped. "But Kinto'un only lets people with pure hearts ride on it." He watched with interest as Goten easily hopped on the cloud without falling through. "This is so neat!" he exclaimed. 

"Hey, wanna meet my grandpa and my uncle and Veggie-chan and Trunks?" Goten suddenly asked, his whole face lighting up. Grandpa would want to meet his real son, and Radditz would like to meet his brother. And Vegeta-san in the future was always trying to spar with Goku, they _must _be friends, so they could be friends in this time too! "I bet they'll love you, Goku!" 

Grinning enthusiastically, the younger of the two boys directed the magic cloud over to the ship's door, pausing so the boys could hop off. Goten led Goku inside and down the hall, following his ki sense to where the other four Saiyans were gathered. He found them in Bardock's and Radditz's bedroom, Radditz and Vegeta lying on the two beds while Trunks and Bardock were apparently talking about something. Vegeta wore a bandage around his head where he had slammed into the wall, but he was at least conscious. Radditz, on the other hand, was still out like a light. Three heads turned to face the doorway as Goten entered the room, pulling Goku behind him. 

Bardock felt his mouth drop open as he looked from one boy to the other. Besides the clothes, they were exactly the same. Right down to the identical grins of delight they were wearing. "Goten?" he questioned the boys, uncertain which one was which, despite the fact that they wore different clothes. After all, knowing Goten's penchant for mischief, they might have switched clothing to confuse him. 

"Grandpa, this is Goku," Goten grinned. Beside him, Goku studied the four new faces, noting with increasing excitement that everyone in the room had a tail just like him. 

"You mean Kakarot?" Bardock's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He didn't know why he hadn't realized it sooner, but there could be no mistake. Not considering the remarkable resemblance the two shared. 

"Carrot? What? Where?" Goku looked around for the mentioned food as his stomach growled in anticipation. Thoughts of a day not so long ago where he had seen a boy who looked exactly like Goku did now, wearing almost the same clothes, and saying those exact same words caused Bardock to start laughing. Eventually, he sat down on the floor, holding his aching sides and wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "I don't get it," Goku said. "What's so funny?" 

Shaking his head, Bardock replied, "Nothing. I'm just happy, that's all." He glanced at Goten quizzically. "Er... Goten? Did you tell him?" 

It took Goten a moment to figure out what his grandfather was asking him. He scratched the back of his head in thought, then shook his head. "Uh uh, grandpa. I didn't know if I should." 

"Tell me what?" Goku asked curiously. 

Goten and Bardock glanced at each other nervously. Trunks stood by his chibi-father's bed and out of the conversation. It was a family reunion, and he didn't really belong in it just now. In the mean time, he gave Vegeta a glare that would make his father proud, letting the other chibi know in no uncertain terms that he should leave the matter to in Bardock's and Goten's hands. 

"Well, um, K-Goku?" Bardock stammered. "You see, I'm really your dad." 

The seven year old boy blinked in surprise, then looked at Bardock in confusion. "You are?" 

"Uh huh," Goten confirmed. "And I'm your son from the future. Me and Trunks are both from the future and we're trying to get home." 

Tilting his head to one side, Goku contemplated these revelation for a moment. "Cool!" he chirped happily. "I always wondered what my dad looked like! And you're my son? From the future? I _thought_ you looked familiar!"__

_'Familiar'? They could be twins and he says Goten looks '_familiar'_? Goku-san, you are one clueless baka._ Trunks sweatdropped. _Goku sure is taking this a lot better than I imagined, though. The father he never knew suddenly shows up and not only does Goku _believe _him but he just thinks it's cool!_ Shaking his head, he clamped a hand firmly over Vegeta's mouth as the prince opened it to say something, probably a jibe at the carefree Saiyan's apparent lack of intelligence. 

"So if you're my tousan, where's my kaasan?" Goku asked innocently. As soon as he asked the question, the youngest chibi knew that it had been the wrong thing to say. A pain filled look entered Bardock's eyes and the adult's shoulders sagged. 

"Sereri, your mother," Bardock began, nearly choking on the words as tears involuntarily slid down his cheeks. "Sereri.... died. In a battle. It happened soon after you were born." His voice had sunk to a whisper and he shivered as the memories of that day crashed in on him in full force. 

_Lightning flashed in the blackened, stormy sky, illuminating everything with a pale, sickly light. Bodies lay everywhere, some fairly intact, others blasted into pieces so small they could hardly be recognized as having once been a living being. The odor of death and decay pervaded the air, making him want to retch, despite being accustomed to grisly scenes such as this. A sickening feeling weighed in his gut as he trudged through the mud and blood of the battlefield, ignoring the rain that poured down all around him.___

_She was there. She had to be there. Somewhere in this mess, he could feel her life force ebbing away like a sand castle being ravaged by the tide. Near. So near. And yet she was fading... fading... No! He had to find her, to keep her from vanishing. Where was she?!___

_There. A figure on the ground, more like a bundle of rags and flesh, unrecognizable as the one he sought. But he knew. It was her. Almost gone. Tears mixed with the rain on his face as he broke into a sprint, madly dashing to the downed warrior. His attention flickered to another figure, this one standing not more than a few feet away from her. It was one of the planet's inhabitants, a creature that looked more like a living rock shaped like a person than any real living thing. The creature noticed him and turned his head to smirk at him. At least, that's what it felt like that expression was. It was hard to tell, what with the dim light and the alien features of the thing.___

_Light became a moot point as the thing lifted a hand and formed a ki blast in one rocky palm. Fear fluttered in his heart as he looked at the enemy's forming attack, not fear for himself, but for the one who lay on the ground at the alien's feet. The creature completed the ki bomb and, with a mocking laugh, tossed it at the limp body on the ground.___

_"NOOOOOO!!!!"_

Grief that had long been bottled up inside him washed over him and he found that he was rocking back and forth, sobbing. He hadn't been able to save her. If only he had been faster, or stronger, or stayed by her side during the fight, she would still be alive. But he had failed her, and now she was dead. All because of him. Tears flowed freely tightly shut eyes, falling into the carpet and disappearing. He barely even noticed as a hand reached out and wiped the tears from his face. 

"I'm sorry," Goku said honestly, sitting down in Bardock's lap so he could give the older man a hug. "I didn't mean to make you cry." 

As simple as this gesture was, it was enough to reach through the grief Bardock was drowning in and touch the man inside. Instead of pushing his emotions away, bottling them up once more 'to be dealt with later', he did something he had never done before. He embraced the anguish, the grief, the sorrow, the loss, the pain. He accepted that he had loved Sereri more deeply than he had ever willingly admitted, even to himself, and that he had lost her. He found that his arms had wrapped themselves around the young boy in his lap, clutching him tightly to his chest as he continued to mourn the death of his beloved mate. For once, he didn't care that there were others witnessing his open display of emotions, didn't even care that he was showing 'weakness' in front of his prince. The only one who existed for him at that point was his newfound son, the last piece of herself that Sereri had left him with. 

~*~ 

Whew! This chapter was _exhausting_ to write! I don't think I've ever had a done a more stressful chapter. Writer's block, introduction of a new major character, character interaction between said new character and previous characters, major character introspection.... plus real life distractions. *sweatdrops* I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to put this chapter up until tomorrow, but, lucky readers, I finished it. ^_^ Pleeeeaaaaase tell me what you think. Did I do a good job? Bad? What parts did you like or dislike? Suggestions? Anything? Anyone? *crickets chirp and silence fills the air* *sags in defeat* Guess I'll go back to banging my head on the wall. 

GalaLeFay- ............ *glowers at the reviewer who is trying to make off with _her_ bishounen* MINE MINE MINE! *rescues poor Bardock, Trunks, and Gohan* Hands off! ^_^ But, hey, you can have Veggie-chan. *grins* He's cute and all, but he's not my type. 

Before you review, MAKE SURE YOU READ THE IMPORTANT AUTHOR EXPLANATION! I put it there for a reason! I don't want people making fools of themselves by asking stupid questions! 

That said, please review. ^_^ 


	27. Kame House

A/N: Lunch is Launch, for those of you who don't know. Don't know her age, but she'll still be a grown woman in this fic. 

Disclaimer: It's official! All the characters in DBZ have voted that I should be the new owner of DBZ! Woo hoo! *cheers and gives everyone hugs and kisses, much to the delight and embarrassment of Bardock, Trunks, and Gohan* 

Random lawyer: You can't do that! The characters don't have the right to say who owns them! 

Brenda: What?! They don't?! Noooo!!! I was so close to owning DBZ! *starts crying into Bardock's shirt* 

Bardock: Shh... there, there... it's ok. We still love you. *hugs Brenda and pats her on the back comfortingly* 

Brenda: *sniffles* Thanks, Bardock. *gives him a kiss on the cheek* 

Bardock: *blushes* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Kame House) 

Radditz sat up, groaning as he rubbed a sore spot on his head. "Uuuhhh... what happened?" Cautiously opening his eyes, he looked around to see that Vegeta was also in bed, scowling at Trunks who stood next to him. Bardock was sitting on the floor hugging Goten in his lap, and Goten was standing a few feet away from the pair, looking anxious about something. _What?_ Radditz blinked at looked back at his father and the boy in his arms, then at the boy standing in the door. _Two Gotens?_

A palpable blanket of tension seemed to vanish as everyone shifted their attention to him. "Uncle Radditz, guess what?" the irrepressible chibi who was not in Bardock's arms chimed happily, the emotional scene of moments before already pushed to the back of his mind. Goten jumped onto Radditz's bed and grinned proudly. "I found my dad!" He pointed at his twin, who waved at Radditz cheerily. 

"Hi, I'm Son Goku!" Goku introduced himself, slipping out of his father's arms so he could face the others in the room. 

"Your dad, huh, kid?" Radditz murmured in amusement before he turned his head towards Goku. "I'm Radditz. So you're my little brother then?" Goten nodded enthusiastically and Goku grinned. 

"I have a brother? That's so cool! I always wanted a brother, and I guess Krillen and Yamcha were kinda like brothers, but not really, if you know what I mean." Goku looked at Trunks and Vegeta, who had yet to be introduced to him. "Are you two my brothers, too? You have tails like me and Goten and my dad and my brother so-" 

"Absolutely not!" Vegeta growled indignantly. "It is an insult to even _suggest_ that I, the Prince of all Saiyans, am related to a lowly third-class baka like you!" 

"Don't mind Vegeta," Trunks said, grinning as he stepped forward to introduce himself. "I'm Trunks. It's nice to meet you, Goku." 

The newest addition to their group opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when his stomach grumbled loudly. "Oh man, I'm starving! Can we find something to eat?" he pleaded. 

Finally gaining control of his emotions, Bardock rubbed his eyes and stood up. He opened the capsule case that he had liberated from Trunks at the beginning of the trip and frowned as he looked them over. "Umm... I don't think we have anymore food." 

"Oh, that's okay," Goku chirped happily. "We can go to Master Roshi's island! Lunch is a great cook and she always has lots of food. And then you can meet my friends Krillen and Turtle and Lunch and Master Roshi! Master Roshi has been teaching me and Krillen how to fight." 

"Please, grandpa, can we go?" Goten begged, eager both for the food and for a chance to see his dad's friend Krillen when he was a child. He gave his grandfather the best Son Puppy Eyes (TM) that he could manage, a look that melted the heart of even the coldest of warriors. Heck, it had even been known to work on Vegeta from time to time! 

Trunks grinned and decided to add his vote in, too. He could guess some of the reactions that the young versions of Goku's and his mother's friends would have to meeting Goku's family, and he did _not _want to miss out on that. "Please, Bardock-san?" 

Radditz and Vegeta didn't really care one way or the other, and both felt it beneath their dignity to plead with Bardock, so they remained silent. They would just go along with whatever choice was made. 

Giving Trunks a sidelong look, Bardock thought the matter over. He thought he detected a gleam in the lavender haired boy's eyes that, to him, could only mean trouble, but he wasn't certain. It was very tempting to take Goku up on his offer, to see the man who had been training his son and the kind of friends he'd made on this world. The deciding factor in the matter was the look in his grandson's eyes. It was too hard to resist giving in to anything that Goten wanted that badly. He smiled faintly as he looked from one eager face to the next and shook his head ruefully. "All right, we'll go to this Master Roshi's island." Cheers broke out from the three youngest chibis as they all jumped in the air in excitement and celebration. "But," Bardock cut them off, giving Goku a serious look, "do you really think he has enough food to feed six people who can eat as much as you can?" From the stories Goten and Trunks had told him of Chikyuu-jin appetites, enough food to feed six hungry Saiya-jin would be enough to feed an army. 

"Ummm," Goku thought this over. "No! But he lives in the middle of the ocean and there's lots of food there!" Thoughts of eating squid, clam, fish, oysters, crabs, and other creatures of the ocean set Goku's stomach growling again. "How are you guys gonna get there, though? Can this thing fly?" He had temporarily forgotten seeing two of them flying just a few minutes ago. 

"Yeah, but we don't need to use the ship to fly," Goten giggled. "We can all fly like you saw me doing earlier." 

"Really? Wow! Would you teach me how to fly? It looks like so much fun!" The seven year old boy eagerly followed his newfound father as the older warrior led the group outside the ship. Trunks pressed the button on the side of the ship that popped it back into its capsule, which he pocketed. 

"It'll probably take a while to teach you," Bardock said uncertainly, comparing the boy's relatively weak power to his own. Impressive, considering how low it had been when he was born, but still nothing compared to even Radditz. Still, it was probably strong enough that he could learn the basics of ki control necessary to flying. "Can you use ki yet?" 

"Uh huh! Master Roshi taught me this really neat trick called the Kamehameha!" Goku hopped onto Kinto'un, which had waited outside for him to come back out. Bardock eyed the thing with extreme interest, having never seen anything like it before. Noticing his stare, Goku explained, "This is my friend, Kinto'un. It lets me ride on it and takes me wherever I want to go." 

Nodding his comprehension, Bardock levitated into the air, the others following suit. "Well, if you already know how to use ki, it shouldn't be that hard to teach you how to fly," he stated confidently as Goku directed the cloud to Master Roshi's island. "It's really only a matter of using your ki to push yourself off the ground and in the direction you want to go in." He lifted a hand to his head, scratching it in thought as he thought through how he would go about teaching his son how to fly. Touching his hair reminded him of something else, though. "Ka - er... Goku?" 

"Hai, tousan?" Goku queried, looking over his should at the man flying next to him. 

"Do you know if this friend of yours has any black or brown hair dye?" 

~*~ 

Inside Kame house, Krillen and Master Roshi avidly watched the television as a rather busty aerobics instructor bent over in a toe-touch. "That's it, ladies, keep it up!" the Turtle Hermit crowed, panting heavily. "A one, a two, a one, a two!" Of course, the old pervert wasn't doing any of the exercises himself, but you wouldn't be able to tell from the way he was breathing. 

In the kitchen, Lunch was busy preparing lunch, humming cheerfully to herself as she put the rice in a pot of boiling water. She happened to look out the window in time to see six people outside heading for the front door. "Are we expecting company?" she asked out loud, catching the attention of the old man and his bald student. 

"Eh? What's that? Company, you say?" Roshi muttered. A knock on the door, followed by the familiar shout of 'Master Rooooshiii' confirmed this and the old martial artist made his way to the door. "Sounds like Goku. What's he doing back here so soon?" he grumbled. It was bad enough that Krillen was around, he had no desire for the naive monkey-tailed pupil of his to be back so soon and make it even harder to get some peace and quiet around here. "Coming!" he shouted. 

Grabbing the handle of the door, he swung it open, ready to verbally express his annoyance with his youngest student. "Goku, I thought you went off to find that four star ball of yours. What are you-" he cut himself off as he took in the group of people who stood in front of his house. "Gah!!" he yelled, falling backwards in surprise as he spotted not one, but _two_ Gokus, one in the familiar orange gi of the Turtle Hermit school, the other in a plain blue training gi. After a moment, he collected himself enough to take in the four other people behind Goku and his twin. Another surprise awaited him in the form of a man dressed in a pink shirt and tattered black pants who could pass himself off as a grown up version of Goku, except he had pink streaks in his black hair and a scar on his cheek. 

Then he noticed the tails and his eyes bugged out, knowing the full implications that having a tail meant. He had witnessed himself what happened when Goku had regained his tail and had looked at the moon. Granted, the moon was gone right now, but it was still a shock to see _six_ people all sporting tails just like Goku's, never mind the fact that the two oldest members of the party had pink streaked brown tails instead of solid brown. 

"Master Roshi, what's wrong?" Krillen's concerned voice asked as he came to the door, drawn by the alarmed yell the old man had given. When he saw what his sensei had seen, he, too, yelled in surprise, his eyes bugging out. "Gaah! Guh-Goku?! There's two of you?!" 

Blithely ignoring the shock that he and his new friends were creating, Goku grinned broadly. "Nah, this is my son, Goten! And that's my dad, and that's my brother, Radditz. That's Trunks, and that's Vegeta over there," he stated, pointing to each one in turn. "Guys, this is Master Roshi, my sensei, and that's my friend Krillen. Krillen and I trained together under Master Roshi." 

"Whoa, hold on a sec!" the old man demanded, his eyes narrowing behind his black sun glasses. "Your _son?!_" 

Chuckling weakly, Bardock scratched his head in embarrassment. "It's a long story, sir. Maybe we could come inside and sit down while I try to explain." 

Giving Bardock a piercing gaze, sizing him up and trying to read his character, the Invincible Old Master gave a sharp nod. "Very well. We can talk while we eat." He stepped to one side and gesture them to come in. Goku, Goten, and Trunks dashed inside, followed by a less rambunctious Vegeta and Radditz, who were still a little out of sorts from their injuries. Bardock hesitated, catching Master Roshi's attention. "Eh? What's wrong?" 

"Well, I was wondering if you needed me to go hunting or something," Bardock said respectfully. The man deserved respect, in his eyes, since he was not only old but was the teacher of his son. "After all, each of us can eat as much as my son, if not more." 

"WHAT?!" Roshi yelped, imagining trying to feed six people with the appetite of his youngest student. He brought out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow and muttered something under his breath. "In that case, yes, you probably should go hunting or fishing. I don't think there's even enough room on this island to _hold_ that much food!" Hearing the sounds of havoc being wrought inside his house, he glowered in the direction of the six boys. "In fact, why don't you take everyone out fishing. If they're gonna eat, they should help get the food." He added these last two sentences loudly enough that they could be heard throughout the house. A mixture of grumbling protests and cries of delight filled the air as the five chibis and one teen filed out of the house. 

"Each of you is responsible for catching enough food to feed yourself," Bardock stated firmly. A sudden thought popped into his mind as he pondered on how they would carry that much food home. Digging into his pocket for the capsule case he had taken from Trunks, he gave each boy an empty capsule. "Use these to store whatever you catch. You do know how they work, right?" he asked uncertainly. He smiled as they all nodded. Good. Capsules weren't from so far in the future that they didn't exist in this time yet. "Right, then, off you go." 

As the children raced into the sea, Bardock turned to the venerable old master next to him, determined to find out one last thing. "Master Roshi, do you have any black or brown hair dye? I asked Goku, but he didn't know." 

Roshi lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "You mean your hair isn't naturally like that?" 

"Kami, no!" Bardock laughed. "Radditz and I are the victims of a prank that Goten, Trunks, and Vegeta played. Unfortunately, the dye is permanent, and we didn't have any other colors." 

"Ah, I see," Roshi nodded sagely. "Well, I'm sorry to say this, but I don't have anything like that. Being bald, I don't exactly have any need for hair dye." 

"Shimatta," Bardock sighed in defeat. "Well, I better get going if I want to keep up with those kids. Arigato, Roshi-san." He floated into the air, then took off, his eyes glued to the surface of the water, ki senses alert for anything living within the blue depths. He never noticed Master Roshi's jaw drop in disbelief, his sun glasses nearly falling off his hooked nose. 

"He can _fly?!_" He quickly sent his senses out in the direction of the man's retreating form, only to find himself reeling under the sheer immensity of the power he felt. "Gah! How can someone be so powerful? It's mind boggling!" On a sudden hunch, he felt for the kis of the four boys who had accompanied him. His jaw hit the ground as he realized they were _all_ more powerful than him, though none were as powerful as Bardock. Two of the kis felt suppressed, though, so he didn't know for certain. "This is Goku's _family?!_" he screeched, glad that no one was around to see him. _I always knew the kid was a natural, but this is insane!_

~*~ 

I _knew_ I shouldn't have acknowledged the bishounen theft... *mutters to herself* Now I've started a Bishounen Theft War! *growls in annoyance* I am not going to acknowledge any more bishounen thefts, so please discontinue this war before it gets out of hand! Reviews, in my opinion, are supposed to be comments to the author about the story, not a battlefield. I know it's fun to pretend to steal characters back and forth, and you can still do that, but don't have a private war that dominates the original purpose of the review board, i.e. a place to review the story. 

Yeesh! I've never written so much _dialogue_! So many characters, so much to say! Sorry about the wait, but I needed a day off yesterday. I'd only gotten 5 hours of sleep the night before, so I was pretty tired and not feeling very creative. So I went to a comic book store and browsed through the manga section. ^_^ I had lots of fun. Then I came home and my sister was on the computer, so I couldn't get on myself until much later. Oh, well, that's life, ne? 

I don't know if Roshi can sense ki at this point. I know he can sense ki during the Dragonball Z episodes, but, as I've said before, my Dragonball knowledge is limited to what's been shown on TV and what I've read in the first 7 volumes of the manga. Don't think he could sense ki yet? Tough. I'm not going to change it now. ^_^ 

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Lunch. She'll have more of a role later on. ^_^ 

Please review! 

**_Story Advertising_**

This is probably the best DBZ/reality crossover series I've ever read. The Ally Universe stories by Arishia-chan are awesome. "Alicia of Riaru, Ally of Anime", "Reflections in the Dark", "How He Saw Ally", "Purple Haze Appearing", and "Just on the Side" (in that order) are about a girl named Alicia (Ally) who gets mysteriously transported from the Real (or Riaru) world into the DBZ world during the fight with Frieza on Namek and must then decide which world she belongs to and how hard she is willing to fight to stay where she wants to be. Unlike many of these so-called Mary-Sue fictions, Ally is _far_ from perfect and makes many mistakes. This is really a very good series, so go read it! ^_^ 


	28. Lunch

And reviewer number 500 is.... Kassygirl! Congratulations! *decorates the reviewer with garlands and confetti* I'd do something really special for getting 500 reviews, but I'm not feeling up to it, so instead I just made the chapter extra long. But that won't stop me from thanking all of you great and wonderful reviewers for reviewing my story! My ego is my pet and needs constant feeding and attention. *grins and strokes her fluffy ego-pet* 500 reviews. Wow. My pet ego should be bigger than Vegeta's by now! *boggles at the thought that anyone's ego could be bigger than Vegeta's* Besides Gotenks's ego, of course. ^_^ 

As much as I resist, Real Life has caught up with me again! Wah! *hides from Real Life* I won't go into a long explanation as to what Real Life did to me this time, but I was late putting this chapter out because of what Real Life did. *glowers balefully at Real Life* 

Disclaimer: If I owned DBZ, don't you think I'd be better informed about the details? *grins* The mere fact that I get so many facts wrong should tell you that I'm just a fan, not the owner. Still, I guess I should state it in case any lawyers are out there. I don't own DBZ. But I like to _pretend_ that I own it. *smiles wistfully* Especially the bishounen characters like Bardock, Gohan, and Trunks. Speaking of which... *goes off to hunt down her favorite cute guys and make them go swimming with her* 

A/N: Dubbies be warned: Nyoibo is Goku's Power Pole. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Lunch) 

Trunks's lightning fast hands knocked out yet another fish the size of a house and grabbed hold of the tail as he dragged it towards the surface. He smirked in satisfaction as he added his newest catch to the other dead creatures he had stored in the capsule Bardock had given him. That should be enough to fill him up. He hovered over the surface of the water, looking for Goten and Goku to see if they were done catching their lunch yet. Both were heading for the shore of Roshi's island, so he used a burst of speed to catch up with them. 

"Hey Goten, hey Goku!" he greeted, smiling as an idea popped into his head. 

"Hiya, Trunks!" Goten cheerfully waved at his purple haired friend from the beach. "Me and tousan caught lots of great stuff. What about you? Did you catch anything neat?" 

"Nah, just the regular things like fish and giant clams and crabs." Raking his eyes over the two boys, he objectively compared them to each other, trying to find any differences between father and son. Finding none, he smirked broadly. "Hey, why don't you two switch clothes! Wouldn't it be neat if everyone thought Goku was you, Goten, and you were your dad?" 

Goten thought this over and giggled. Goku, however, looked confused. "Why would we want to do that?" he asked. 

Realizing it would be harder than he thought to pull Goku into his ring of mischief makers, Trunks stammered a quick excuse. "Uhh... because then we could see if anyone really notices that you two are different!" he declared. 

"Oh. Okay!" the youngest boy cheerfully agreed, finding no problem with that. With his usual lack of modesty, he quickly took off his clothes and his nyoibo, setting them on the ground next to Goten as his son from the future followed suit. Trunks was busy keeping an eye out to make sure that no one was watching, anxious not to have his fun spoiled just yet. Within a few moments, Goku was dressed in Goten's dark blue gi and Goten now wore Goku's orange Turtle Hermit school gi with the red nyoibo strapped to his back. The two grinned in delight as the examined one another. 

"Sugoi!" Goten laughed. "I get to be you, and you get to be me! Remember, you have to called your tousan 'grandpa', and I have to call him 'tousan'." 

"And don't forget that you have to pretend your name is Goku," Trunks added hastily, pointing at Goten, "and that you're Goten." He pointed at Goku as he said the second part. The two look-alikes nodded in unison and grinned. 

"I'm Goku!" Goten chirped, pointing to himself. 

"And I'm Goten!" Goku chirped back happily. 

"Perfect," Trunks stated proudly. "Okay, now let's go inside and see if anyone notices!" With that, the three chibis made their way into the house to pester Lunch into cooking the creatures they caught. Krillen, Radditz, and Vegeta had already finished gathering their food and were now eating ravenously at the table. Only small portions of their food could be eaten at a time because there was literally not enough room in the house to decapsulize all of the food. From the looks of some of the sea creatures, they had been too impatient to wait for Lunch to cook everything and had ki-fried some of it. Handing their food-filled capsules to Lunch, Goku, Goten, and Trunks sat down and dug in hungrily, eating as fast as only Saiyans could eat. In the background, Master Roshi was starting at the five bottomless pits as they gorged themselves. _And I thought it was bad when it was only Krillen and Goku..._ He shook his head woefully as he watched the food disappear at an unbelievable rate. _It's a miracle that Lunch can keep up with them all!_

At this point, Bardock got back from his fishing trip and stared in amusement at the scene of chaos taking place at the table. Since he had more self control, he decided he's wait until the children had finished eating so as to spare Lunch having to keep up with yet another Saiya-jin appetite. Sitting down next to Master Roshi on the other side of the room, he patiently waited for the turmoil to die down. 

"Young man, I never did catch your name," Roshi grunted, glancing away from the spectacle that was lunch as Lunch walked by. Grinning like a loon, he reached out to pat the shapely woman's bottom but ended up getting his hand covered in rice as she suddenly turned the pot of rice she was holding towards the old pervert while she grabbed the spoon she'd forgotten. Oblivious to the dirty old man's advances, she continued to cheerfully serve the children. Bardock, however, was well aware of what Roshi had tried to do. 

"It's Bardock," he said, his eyes narrowed in disapproval. _This man may be my son's teacher, but I'm beginning to wonder exactly what he was being taught besides martial arts._ Despite the fact that he was a warrior and was well acquainted with the coarse humor and crude behavior that soldiers tended to have, it somehow irked him that a pervert had been training his youngest son. 

"Erhem, yes, Bardock. I was wondering if you might answer a few questions I have." The Turtle Hermit turned an inquisitive eye towards the other man. Bardock nodded cautiously, aware that there were probably a thousand questions Master Roshi might have. "I've been told that Goku was found as a baby, abandoned in the woods, by a former pupil of mine. I would like to know how this happened." The words themselves were innocuous enough, but the tone held just enough of an accusation that Bardock flinched, looking down at his hands. Nothing was said between the two for several long moments as Bardock struggled with how to explain. 

"My mate, Sereri, died soon after Kakarot - that was the name we gave Goku - was born," he said quietly, sadness weighing heavily in his voice. "Sereri and I were... close... and when she died, I nearly went insane with grief." It was harder than he thought, talking about that time, about what he'd been feeling and what he had done. He clenched his fists tightly, determined not to break down yet again. "I-I couldn't stand to have Kakarot around me, reminding me of _her_. It's customary among my people to send the weaker children to other planets in order to become stronger, and Kakarot was considered very weak. So I killed two birds with one stone and sent my son to Earth so he could become stronger and so I would not have to be reminded every day of what I had lost." Blinking back tears before they could fall, he added, "I regret that decision now." 

Master Roshi blinked owlishly from behind his sun glasses at the man beside him as the warrior stared numbly at the floor, obviously in deep mental turmoil. "What do you mean, you sent Goku to Earth? You mean you're not human?" 

"Ah..." Lunch's voice barely carried over the din of the people eating. 

"No. I am Saiya-jin, from Vegeta-sei," Bardock explained, glad to get off the topic of Sereri's death and his decision to abandon his second son. 

"Ahhh..." Nobody was paying attention as the brunette woman's nose twitched and she raised a hand to rub at it. 

"Then that means Goku's not human either?" Roshi pressed, eyebrows raised, surprise evident in his voice. _Yeesh! No wonder they're all so strong! And that explains the tails and the whole turning-into-a-giant-monkey-during-the-full-moon thing._ Bardock nodded and opened his mouth to say something more, but was interrupted. 

"Ah-CHOO!" Lunch sneezed violently, causing her hair to shift from brunette to blond, her black eyes changing to teal, and her whole personality to transform into someone completely different from the sweet, innocent, and somewhat naive woman who had been cooking for everyone. In her place, an irritated woman glared at everyone around her and pulled out a machine gun. "All right, what are you all doing in _my_ house?!" she yelled angrily, waving the weapon threateningly. 

"Whoa!" Bardock yelped as his eyes widened in shock, thinking that he recognized the transformation Lunch had just undergone. "She's a Super Saiyan?!" _This _was an unexpected turn of events! 

Taking his outburst as an excuse to get violent, Lunch screamed in fury. "_What_ did you just call me?! I ain't no Super Woman, you jerk!" She opened fire on the hapless Saiyan, emptying a whole round of bullets as she sought to destroy the man who had dared insult her. "If you're trying to hit on me, you're gonna regret it, buster!" 

Even as surprised as he was, Bardock was able to react quickly enough to catch all of the bullets before they could damage anything or anyone. He could always have just let them hit him, since they wouldn't have done any damage, but they might have poked holes in his shirt. Since it was the only shirt he had to wear at the moment and was technically on loan from Trunks, he's rather not let that happen. This, of course, only made Lunch even more furious. 

"You bastard!" Bardock didn't want to hurt her for, despite the fact that she was a Super Saiyan, she seemed to lack any real power. If he fought back at all, he might severely injure her. So he meekly let her attack him as he tried to fend off her blows, until he tripped on the carpet and sent them both crashing into a tumble of legs and arms. Lunch took advantage of her foe's awkward position with lightning speed and launched herself at him with fists and feet flying. 

Thinking quickly, Master Roshi had instantly gone to grab the pepper from the kitchen, having long since gotten used to Lunch's 'mood swings'. He got back in time to see the beautiful blonde attempting, and failing miserably, to beat Bardock into the ground. One shake of the pepper in front of her face, and Lunch sneezed herself back to her normal, sweet self. She blinked in surprise, finding herself straddling the downed Saiyan man. Bardock blushed furiously as he realized how compromising their positions were. 

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I just... do something?" Lunch apologized nervously, standing up carefully. 

"Besides trying to beat the tar out of me?" Bardock asked wryly as he sat up. He dropped the bullets he'd caught and rubbed the back of his head self consciously as he studied Lunch in more detail. She didn't _look_ Saiyan, but she had just transformed into a Super Saiyan. "No, not really." 

"I hope I didn't hurt you," she said with concern. 

"Nah, you just surprised me when you transformed into a Super Saiyan." 

"Eh, Bardock, I don't know what you're talking about," Master Roshi started to say, glancing from Lunch to Bardock, "but Lunch is as human as I am." _And a darn good looking human at that!_ he added mentally. "She has two personalities, though, that she'll switch between whenever she sneezes." 

"What's a 'Super Saiyan'?" Lunch asked curiously. 

Bardock glanced over at Goten, or the boy he thought was Goten, and Trunks. "One of you care to demonstrate?" 

Immediately noticing the confusion plastered on Goku's face, Trunks leapt out from under the table where the boys had all hidden when Lunch had transformed. "I will, Bardock-san!" he volunteered hurriedly before Goku had a chance to open his big mouth and accidentally reveal that he wasn't Goten. Krillen, Lunch, and Master Roshi watched with curiosity as Trunks walked over to the center of the room. He smirked in anticipation of the reactions he was certain he would get as he prepared to power up. 

"Wait!" Bardock yelled in alarm before Trunks could begin, realizing something. "Maybe we should go outside for this..." 

Glancing at Bardock in puzzlement, it suddenly dawned on Trunks what he was talking about. Powering up inside Kame house might accidentally damage something or someone. He quickly nodded in agreement and headed for the door. 

"Why should we go outside?" Roshi muttered in confusion as they all followed Trunks outside. 

"Because this isn't something you should do in an enclosed place that hasn't been reinforced by steel or something stronger," Bardock muttered, more to himself than to Roshi. "Okay, Trunks, show them whenever you're ready." 

With a wide grin on his face, Trunks quit suppressing his ki, instead working on raising it as high as he could. In less than a moment, it was powerful enough to create a miniature whirlwind around him, picking up sand and twigs and lifting his hair away from his head. Yelling triumphantly, he crossed the threshold between his normal state and Super Saiya-jin, his eyes flashing from their regular sky blue to the brilliant sea green all Super Saiyans had. His hair separated into spikes that defied gravity, sparkling with raw energy until they, too, changed, becoming a brilliant golden color. 

"That," Bardock stated, smiling faintly, "is a Super Saiyan." 

To Krillen and Lunch, it was merely an impressive light display, albeit one with interesting effects like the wind and floating rocks. To Radditz, it was something of a shock. He had already heard from his father about Trunks and Goten being Super Saiya-jin, so while he was somewhat prepared, it still took him off guard to actually _witness_ the transformation. It didn't even take him reaching out his ki senses for Master Roshi to know that he was now facing a being even more powerful than Bardock. The old martial artist's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of his head and he thought that any minute his heart might give out on him. _Dear Kami, his power! And I thought _Bardock_ was strong! But this... it's beyond comprehension! And he's just a boy!_

"Neato! Your hair turned yellow!" Goku squealed, jumping up and down in excitement as he completely forgot that he was supposed to be pretending to be Goten. Bardock glanced at the boy in confusion, puzzled by his reaction to Trunks's transformation. A niggling suspicion formed in his mind and he frowned, examining the boy he had thought was his grandson. 

"Goten?" he asked doubtfully. Trunks groaned as he realized that the switch had probably just been discovered. _Goku, you baka!_

Realizing that he'd just blown his cover, Goku looked up nervously at his dad. "Er.. hai, t-grandpa?" 

Because he was looking for it, Bardock caught the minor slip. That and Trunks's groan told him everything he needed to know. He smiled in amusement and reached down to scoop his son up. "You can drop the act now, Goku," he chuckled. "I know you're not Goten." 

Instead of being dismayed at being caught, Goku grinned in delight. "You noticed! Trunks told me and Goten to switch clothes so we could see if anyone could tell us apart, and it worked!" he crowed happily as he gave his father a hug. 

"Trunks said that?" the pink-and-black haired warrior asked, grinning as he shifted his head to the suddenly sweating Super Saiyan. Trunks gulped and anxiously rubbed his arm in an unconscious gesture of nervousness. "I see." Unable to maintain the necessary focus to stay in Super Saiyan, Trunks's hair shifted back to purple as he powered down. Bardock laughed gently. "Don't worry, Trunks, I'm not angry. Actually, I'm just amused that one of your pranks fell through before you could do whatever you were planning." Still grinning, he picked up Goten with his other arm and carried the look-alikes inside. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, there are a few explanations in order, so why don't we all go back inside and sit down so I only have to tell the story once." 

~*~ 

Ehh... someone brought to my attention that sometimes my attitude in my author notes is a little abrasive (you know who you are). I don't really think so myself, but just in case anyone else does, I'm informing you that you should never take me too seriously. (Heck, even I don't take myself seriously! *grins*) I vent a little steam in my author notes from time to time, and if I write them when I'm sleep deprived, I can sound really cranky, but I never mean any harm. I'm blunt (brutally, honestly blunt) and sometimes not very patient and a lot of people don't like that, but that's me and I'm not about to change anytime soon. ^_^ Don't take things too personally. 'Kay? 

This should make some of you happy: I've decided to bring in another villain. *grins* My fic is, after all, an action/adventure fic, and what's an action/adventure fic without a villain? No, he's not gonna be super strong, so, no, Gotenks is NOT going to be needed. I won't say who the villain is, but you can feel free to take a guess, if you like. ^_^ 

Please review! 

**_Story Advertising_**

This is a kawaii one-shot about Goten, Trunks, and Vegeta. Read 'What's a "Kakarot?"' by Mango Madness, storyid 275155. Vegeta is always ranting about "Kakarot" and Trunks and Goten don't know what it is, so they decide to ask him. Really cute. ^_^ 

"Friend's 'Til Death" by Miyuki Usuki, story id 4723, is a one-shot Bardock fic about how Bardock and his team first met. Fairly decent, and since it's Bardock, I'm advertising it. ^_^ 

"Hope Reborn" by Severina, story id 700811, is another Bardock fic that's actually pretty good, except that it's unfinished. Bardock travels to the future in an attempt to find out how to beat Frieza. Read it and pester the author into writing another chapter, because it has great potential! ^_^ 


	29. That Night

Cloud- I completely agree with you. The Saiyans have been too soft lately. But I haven't had any reason to bring out their hard edges! *wrings her hands in embarrassment* They've been around those cute little chibis so much, and no one was around for them to need to worry about being all tough in front of, that they've been allowing themselves to get all mushy. With the last couple of chapters, I've been busy bringing in new characters and haven't had a chance to focus on making the warriors remember that they're supposed to be hard. *perks up* But I'm mostly done bringing in new characters for now, so I can get back to characterization. With the two biggest hot heads of the Dragonball series coming in soon and a new (sorta) villain, it shouldn't take long for the Saiyans to regain some of their hard edges. I hope. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: Umm... do I really need to repeat myself? I don't own DBZ. Wish I did, but it'll only happen in my dreams and in alternate universes. *sighs* What a pity, huh? I'd probably make a great owner of DBZ. ^_^ 

Bardock: *grins* I wholeheartedly agree! 

Brenda: *blushes and smiles at Bardock shyly* Arigato, Bardock-kun! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(That Night) 

Night time on the island was peaceful and serene, a cool breeze blowing gently and only the stars providing a faint ambiance. Everyone within the house was asleep, sharing blankets, pillows, and futons, or sprawled out on the couch snoring softly. The waves lapped softly against the sandy beach in the quiet lullaby of nature. The only thing that marred the beauty of the night was the inner chaos in Bardock's mind. Laying on his back on the roof of Kame house, he glared up at the twinkling stars as though they were the cause of all his problems. 

He was angry with himself. Angry for showing so much emotion in front of his sons and his youngest son's friends and teacher. Spending so much time with only Goten, Trunks, Radditz, and Vegeta had damaged the hardened exterior that he had spent so many years cultivating. Under their influence, specifically his grandson's, the wall he had built up between himself and his emotions had been broken and he now found himself becoming soft, vulnerable, and completely unlike the cold warrior he had been before they came into his life. He didn't resent being emotional, didn't resent his grandson for crawling beneath the protective barrier he had placed around his heart, but it should not have gotten to the point where he would break down and cry when he met up with his son for the first time in six years. Nor should he have allowed himself to show any emotion when that old man had asked him why Goku had been abandoned. Emotions were something that should only be shared among close friends and family, and even then they should be held in check. 

Laughing bitterly, he berated himself for his weakness. "I am Saiya-jin," he whispered harshly. "Warrior, killer, a mass murderer. One of the strongest Saiyans on the planet Vegeta. And here I am, openly displaying my feelings for all to see, playing with children who know nothing of their heritage, and grieving for a mate many years dead. Oh Sereri, how you must be laughing at me now. Toma, Celipa, Panboukin, Totepo... look how your great commander has fallen, outcast from our world for the rest of my life. I'll probably live the rest of my days here on this planet where, if the people knew what I am, I'll be shunned. Even as soft as I've become, they're softer still." Angry tears spilled out of his eyes as he recalled what had brought him to the realization of just how soft he had become, and yet how out of place he was on this peaceful world. 

_Why do you send children to other worlds? How is that supposed to make them stronger? Couldn't you just train the children yourselves?_

The old man had a knack for asking questions that would, if answered, reveal the worst side of the Saiyan race. Bardock had squirmed uncomfortably under the man's piercing gaze as he thought seriously about the questions, an awkward silence filling the air. How the hell was he supposed to answer that? _We send children out to worlds so they can clear them of all life in preparation for being sold to the highest bidder. The fighting makes them stronger. Yes, we could train them ourselves, but most of the fighters are busy destroying other, harder planets._ He hadn't said any of those things, knowing somehow that if he spoke the truth in front of his youngest son and his companions, that they would despise him. Instead, he had muttered some nonsense about learning new techniques from alien races and had fled the house before they could press the matter, seeking the cool night air in hopes that it would clear his thoughts. 

There was the problem right there. He had _cared_ what the others thought about him, about his son, about his people. _Why the hell do I care what they think?!_ he screamed furiously, clenching his fists tightly enough that he drew blood. _I've never given a damn what anyone thought, except Sereri, but she was my mate, so that was different. Kuso! It never mattered to me whether anyone thought I was a planet murdering kono yaro or not. Anyone who didn't like what I did could go to hell, for all I cared. Now... I meet my grandson, come to this planet, Chikyuu-sei, meet the son I abandoned when Sereri died, and confront the people who have raised and trained him in my place, and suddenly I run like a coward if they ask about my past. Damn it! I'm such a weakling!_ He felt like pounding the roof with his fist, but he knew that he would end up leaving a hole in it, as well as waking the inhabitants of the house. Squeezing his eyes shut, he resisted the urge, settling instead on hissing in frustration through tightly clenched teeth. He was not prepared to face them again. 

"Why am I so confused about this?" he hissed at the stars. "Only a couple of weeks ago, everything was clear and simple. Obey my orders, wipe out the population on a given planet, receive my pay, and promptly spend it at a bar. My teammates were the only friends I had, and even they weren't that close. I never had to worry about what anyone thought, never had to deal with these emotions, it was just so easy to block out anything that might bother me. Sereri was dead, and even that didn't bother me like it does now. Why? Why now?!" If he had been paying attention to himself, he would have noticed that his voice was trembling, threatening to crack. He blinked tears back furiously, determined to shut the anguish in his heart out through sheer force of will. His body shook slightly, though he didn't know if it was from the strength of his self loathing or from the grief he was trying to deny. "If I didn't cry then," he whispered, "why am I crying now?" 

The memories returned again like the coals of a died out fire pressed against his skin, searing with their intensity and painful emotions. The last mission he and Sereri had gone on together. The day his world had ended. He recalled the feeling of being ripped and torn apart from within as the connection between himself and his mate was snapped, recoiling on him like a taut cord that had been cut in one clean stroke of a sharp knife. He couldn't remember what he had done then; everything became blurred around the edges and jumbled, distorted by the sudden loss of the presence in his mind that had been Sereri. All he knew was that, when he had regained control of himself, he was kneeling over the crater where he had last seen his mate, her murderer lying in bloody pieces not more than a few feet away from him. He had stared numbly into the open grave, drained of all emotion as he realized that he could not even cradle her broken body in his arms. The blast the alien had sent at her had apparently incinerated her body. He vaguely recalled tears trailing down his cheeks, or maybe it was just the rain that was pouring down from the sky, but he had not truly _cried_ for Sereri. Something inside of him had died that day and he had been unable to mourn her, so, instead, he had shoved everything into a small corner of his mind and boarded it up, hoping never to see any of it again. 

He had been wrong. One misspoken wish in the future and a boy had dropped into his life and turned it upside down. Between Goten and Goku, the shield that he had thought as solid as concrete had become as fragile as spun glass, shattering under their gentle touch and flinging its shards into his heart, slashing his soul to ribbons. How could two boys do so much to him? How could they unearth things that had been buried for years? How was he supposed to live with himself, torn between this new, softer side of him that was so weak, and the cold, heartless, yet undeniably strong side that had sustained him for most of his life? 

Completely indifferent to the inner conflict and turmoil within the man who stared blankly at them, the stars sparkled silently, refusing to give him an answer. 

~*~ 

Upon waking up for the third time in less than an hour, Goten finally rolled onto his side and prodded Trunks awake. The nine year old boy groaned in his sleep and flipped over so he faced away from Goten. Undeterred, he poked his friend again. "Trunks? Are you awake?" 

"Nnnnn..." Trunks mumbled irritably. "I am now, baka." 

"Trunks?" 

"What?" 

"Did you notice how sad grandpa was earlier?" Goten propped his head on one hand and tugged his blankets closer. 

"Yeah. What about it?" Rolling over so he could see Goten, the purple haired demi-saiyan noted the concerned look on his best friend's face. 

"Well, I was wondering if maybe there was something we could do. You know, to make him feel better." Toying with his tail absentmindedly, the eight year old boy stared at Trunks hopefully. 

"Well, if you want to make him feel better, maybe we could find some black or brown hair dye. He keeps asking everyone for it, so I bet he'd be happy if you got him some," Trunks yawned, rubbing his sleepy eyes. 

"I bet Bulma-san knows where you can get stuff like that," a third voice piped in. Awakened by their conversation, Goku had sat up and listened to them. "She's always doing weird things to her hair." 

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Goten grinned at his twin and gave him a hug in thanks. "But how do we ask her?" 

"Goten, you baka," Trunks laughed, the trace of a smirk gracing his lips. "I know Bulma's phone number, remember?" 

"Oh, yeah! That's right! Bulma's your mpphhh!!" Goten glared angrily at his friend as Trunks covered the younger boy's mouth. While everyone couldn't help but know that Goten was related to Goku, they had still managed to keep Trunks's parentage a secret. Trunks was _not_ about to let his friend ruin his chances of being born into this timeline! Fortunately for both of them, Goku was naive enough that he didn't notice the exchange. 

"Say, um, Goku? Do you think you could ask Bulma for the hair dye? She doesn't really know me or Goten, but she knows you," the oldest of the three suggested hopefully. After all, it would seem pretty weird to Bulma to have some kid she didn't know ask her for hair dye and to come to Master Roshi's island with it. 

"Sure!" Goku chirped amiably. He was always willing to help other people, especially if they asked. 

Now wide awake and filled with excitement, Trunks jumped up and pulled Goku towards the phone. "Great! Let's call her now, so she can have time to get over here by morning, and then we can surprise your dad when he wakes up!" It conveniently slipped his mind that it was the middle of the night and that most normal people were asleep at this time. Picking up the phone, he dialed in his mother's phone number, then handed it to Goku, making sure he was holding it correctly. 

After several minutes of ringing - "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHY THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING ME AT THIS HOUR, YOU BAKAYARO!?!?!" All three boys winced and covered their ears protectively as Bulma's banshee voice screeched at them over the phone. 

"Ossu, Bulma-san!" Goku greeted cheerily when she paused to take a breath. "It's me, Goku!" 

"Goku, do you have any idea what time it is?" Bulma's voice was considerably less angry and a lot quieter than before, though still clearly audible to the sensitive hearing of the other two boys in the room, but there was an obvious note of displeasure in it. Obvious to anyone, unless they were Son Goku. 

"Well, I was wondering if you have any black or brown hair dye. My dad and my brother kinda need some, 'cause someone put pink dye in their hair. It looks really funny!" he laughed, picturing the pink streaks and spots in Bardock's and Radditz's hair. 

"..... did you just say your _dad_ and your _brother_?" 

"Uh huh! I met them today! Dad's so cool, he can _fly_, Bulma! He promised to teach me how to fly, too! Isn't that neat? Radditz can fly, too, and so can Goten and Trunks and Vegeta! And they don't need a magic cloud or one of your car thingies, either." Chattering away like a magpie, Goku flitted from one topic to another faster than Bulma could keep up. "And you know what? They can _all_ eat as much as me! I _told_ you that you don't eat enough! They-" 

"Whoa! Slow down, Son-kun! You're giving me a headache just trying to figure out what the hell you're talking about. Why don't I just come over to wherever you are in the morning, and you can tell me all about it. Okay?" 

"Okay, Bulma!" Goku readily agreed, excited at the prospect of seeing his first friend again. "I'm at Master Roshi's house." 

"You're with that perverted old man again?" Bulma sounded less than pleased at this. A sigh, and then, "Okay. I'll bring the dye over when I come visit. What colors did you need again?" 

"Brown, like my tail. And black." 

"Okay. Got it. I'll see you in the morning, Goku. Good night!" 

"Good night, Bulma!" Goku hung up the phone and flashed a victory sign at his two friends. "Yatta! Bulma's gonna come over in the morning, and she says she'll bring some dye." Goku and Goten hugged each other in celebration while Trunks grinned triumphantly. Satisfied that they had done all they could for the night, they crawled back into their blankets and fell asleep within moments. 

~*~ 

*grins* You guys kept bugging me to bring Bulma in! Well, guess what? I'm making you wait another whole chapter for her to get in! *laughs insanely* Mwahahaha!! *calms down* Here's where I need your help. I normally don't insult people. I'm a fairly nice person. Blunt, but nice. You all _know_ that Bulma and Vegeta are gonna insult each other *smirks* but I need help thinking of some good insults that these two would actually say! Keep in mind that Bulma is 11 and Vegeta is 10, so they might very well be a little immature. Be creative, but don't go overboard. Arigato! 

Any opinions on how I did the characterization in this story? *looks around anxiously* 

Normal reviews are still welcome! *grins hopefully* 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Troubled Times" by Proteus, story id 726008, is a story about Vegeta, Gohan, Bulma, Trunks, and Goten traveling to Vegeta-sei of the past in order to prevent a disaster of epic proportion. Gohan must face the ugly reality of his Saiyan heritage and Vegeta must decide if he should use this chance to save the Saiyan race from Frieza. Best of all, it has BARDOCK in this story! I truly recommend this story to everyone. Go read it and review to make sure the author keeps writing. ^_^ 

"A Blast From The Past, Surely" by Lavender Saiyajin, story id 729207, is a story about Bardock being sent to the future by the blast Frieza used to kill Vegeta-sei. Now he's on Earth and he gets to meet Goku and Goten. It's a great story! Go support the author by reading it and reviewing! 

"The Amnesia Saga" by Maria Cline, story id 118778. Bulma and Goku meet up with Pilaf and end up losing their memories. What happens when they get stranded in the far reaches of the universe? And what will their families do about it? I normally don't touch Bulma and Goku romance stories, but this one is really good. ^_^ 


	30. Enter Bulma

Ermm... gomen ne... Got this chapter out late 'cause I haven't been feeling too well. Still not really feeling better, but at least I got the chapter done, right? 

Thank you all for giving me Bulma and Vegeta insults! Speaking of which, let me clarify that this will not be a Bulma and Vegeta fic. They're 11 and 10 years old, respectively, so they will have absolutely no physical attraction to each other at this point. I might, _might_, write a Bulma and Vegeta fic after this one (no promises) but this story is primarily action/adventure. No romance at all, beyond a little embarrassment and ogling on certain characters' parts. ^_^ I'm saving all romance for the sequels: Bardock and Sereri, and the potential Bulma and Vegeta. Whoops. Did I just give a spoiler? Yes I did. ^_^ Oh well, it wasn't that big. 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. 

(A/N: That has to be my shortest disclaimer yet! *laughs*) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Enter Bulma) 

"Come on, Yamcha, wake _up_ already!" Bulma's shrill voice pierced the air of Capsule Corporation with an intensity that threatened to shatter glass. She pounded on the door of her guest's bedroom again and vowed silently that if he didn't open the door in the next two seconds, she was going to barge in on him and dump him out of bed. The twelve year old boy, the boy she had settled on having as her 'almost-prefect friend' when she she hadn't been able to wish for the perfect friend, was a guest at her house, since he didn't have anywhere else to go after the end of the dragonball hunt. Yamcha groaned loudly. 

"Since when are you an early bird, Bulma?" he whined through the door. "It's not even seven yet! What's so important that you have to wake me up this early for?" 

Deciding that his two seconds were up, Bulma banged the door open and stomped over to her friend, who was currently huddled under a mass of twisted sheets with his pillow on top of his head. "For your information, buster, I got a phone call from Goku last night!" she fumed as she yanked the sheets off of Yamcha and hurtled them to the floor. 

"Hey!" Yamcha protested, grabbing at the sheets as the cold air washed over his body. They both blushed furiously as they realized that Yamcha was wearing nothing but his underwear. Scrambling out of bed, the black haired boy snatched the sheets off the floor and pulled them around his lower half. "So?" he asked, glaring at the blue haired girl in front of him. "What'd he have to say that makes you feel like you have to beat the sun at its own game?" 

Bulma rummaged through the dresser that held Yamcha's clothing, trying to decide what to have her 'perfect' friend wear. "Well, Goku needs me to bring him some hair dye this morning. Something about his father and brother needing it." She paused and looked pointedly at Yamcha, waiting to see if he would catch the implications of what she had just said. 

Blinking owlishly as he absorbed the information, Yamcha asked hesitantly, "You mean, Goku found his family?" 

"Bingo!" Bulma smirked triumphantly. Yamcha might not be a genius like she was, but he wasn't slowwitted either. "Oooh! I can't _wait _to see them!" She giggled as she finally chose an outfit for her friend to wear, a pair of blue jeans and a green T-shirt, and handed them to Yamcha. "I wonder how old his brother is. I hope he's good looking. Ahh, who am I kidding? Of _course_ he's good looking! Any family that could produce someone as cute as Goku _has _to have good looking guys in it. Not that I think Goku's hot or anything. Kami, he's just a kid, after all. But he's cute in a kiddy sort of way. I bet Goku's _dad_ is a hunk, though!" She turned her back on Yamcha while he got dressed, her mouth going faster than she could drive a capsule car, which was saying something. 

"Bulma, aren't you a little young to be interested in guys?" Yamcha asked incredulously as he pulled the pants on. 

"Of _course_ I am!" she snapped, her eyes flashing furiously for a moment before she smiled happily. "But a girl's allowed to look around to see what's out there, right? I have to see what the world has to offer so that when I _am_ old enough to be interested, I'll know what to look for in the perfect boyfriend." Turning around to find her friend dressed, Bulma flashed him a smile and grabbed his arm. "Okay, let's go!" she yelled cheerfully as she dragged the older boy out of his room. "I've already got the dye Goku asked me for, so all we have to do is fly on over to Master Roshi's island!" 

Rolling his eyes, Yamcha could only follow silently as his blue haired host shoved him into one of her capsule cars and took off. He silently prayed to Kami that they would at least make it to the Turtle Hermit's island alive, something that you could never be sure of with Bulma at the wheel. The blue haired genius let out a wild whoop and revved the engine, shooting off into the sky like a bullet. 

~*~ 

  
  


Unable to sleep any longer, Goten got up and tiptoed outside, careful not to wake any of his friends. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he decided to get a head start on catching his breakfast. He quickly stripped off his chibi-dad's orange gi so it wouldn't get wet, then waded into the ocean in only his underwear, eagerly scanning the area for any tasty looking creatures. 

He had caught about half a meal's worth of food when he heard the sounds of an approaching air car and looked up in time to see two older kids speeding towards the island in a capsule car. He watched with interest as the vehicle landed on the beach and a blue haired girl and a black haired boy got out. The boy promptly fell to the ground and started kissing it thankfully while the girl flipped her silky, shoulder length hair over her shoulder and looked around. When she saw Goten standing waist deep in the water, she smiled and waved as she walked over. 

"Hiya, Son-kun! I brought the dye like you asked. So, where's your family? Aren't you going to introduce me to them?" Putting her hands on her hips, she studied the younger boy with a faint look of disapproval on her face. "And get some clothes on, will ya? Honestly, your lack of modesty is embarrassing! At least you didn't take _everything_ off like you usually do, though. That's _some _improvement anyway." 

Goten scratched the back of his head in confusion as he stared at the two new arrivals. "Umm...." 

"Well? What are you standing there for?!" Bulma yelled. "Put your clothes on already!" 

Startled into action, Goten leapt out of the water and started pulling his clothes back on. "Hai, Bulma-san," he said, guessing that since she had blue hair like Bulma did and had said she brought dye, that this must be Bulma when she was younger. As he strapped the nyoibo onto his back, he glanced over at the black haired boy curiously, wondering who he was. 

"Yamcha, will you put the car back into its capsule, please?" Bulma asked in a surprisingly sweet voice, unwittingly answering Goten's question. Yamcha nodded pleasantly and pressed the button that capsulized the machine. Bulma smiled and turned back to Goten. "So, Goku, where _is_ your family? You said your dad and your brother were here. I want to meet them." Clapping her hands excitedly, she giggled as she once again tried to picture Goku's family. 

"Uhh... Bulma?" Goten asked nervously, scuffing the dirt with the toe of his foot. "I'm not Goku." 

"Huh?" Bulma stared at Goten like he was crazy. "What do you mean, you're not Goku. Of course you're Goku!" She put her fists on her hips and glared at the shorter boy angrily. "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke? 'Cause if it is, it's not very funny." 

"But I'm _not_ Goku! Honest!" Goten protested. "I'm Goten. Goku's still asleep. Or he was last time I was inside anyway." 

Bulma and Yamcha stared at Goten with disbelief. The boy looked _exactly_ like Goku, from his spiky black hair and wide, innocent eyes down to the brown furred tail that they had only ever seen on one person. "But... but you _look_ like Goku, and you're wearing his clothes!" Yamcha stated uncertainly. "Maybe you're just sick and think you're someone else!" 

"That's 'cause me and Goku traded clothes to see if anyone could tell us apart," Goten explained, grinning in the way that only the Son family could pull off. Needless to say, it did nothing to help convince Bulma and Yamcha that he was not Goku. Then Bulma remembered something and she smirked triumphantly, thinking that she had cleared the mystery. 

"I get it now! You're Goku's brother, aren't you! Guess the little guy forgot to mention his brother was his _twin_," Bulma chuckled affectionately, reaching out to ruffle Goten's hair. "Well, I'm Bulma Briefs, and this is my friend, Yamcha. It's nice to meet you, Goten!" 

"But..." Goten trailed off, uncertain as to how to clarify that he wasn't Goku's brother. "But Bulma, I'm-" 

"Ha! I knew it!" the blue haired girl crowed in self congratulation. "I was right! You _are_ his twin, aren't you! Bulma, you are a genius." 

"But..." Goten tried again, anxious not to let Bulma get the wrong idea, only to be proven wrong later. That would make her _really _mad. 

"What the hell is going on down there?" an irritated, sleepy voice grumbled from the top of the Kame house, cutting off any further discussion. Bardock's bleary face poked over the edge of the roof, glowering down at the noisy trio who had woken him up. His mood wasn't helped any by the fact that he had accidentally fallen asleep outside, and the roof of the house hardly made the most comfortable of beds. 

Grateful for the distraction, Goten waved cheerfully up at Bardock. "Ohayoo, grandpa! This is Bulma and Yamcha." Suddenly realizing that the reason Bulma was over here in the first place was supposed to be a surprise, he gulped and scratched the back of his head nervously. "Umm... Goku called Bulma last night and asked her to come over. I'll take her inside right now! Sorry to bother you!" He quickly grabbed Bulma and Yamcha and pulled them inside before Bardock could become suspicious. Bardock merely groaned and rolled onto his back, staring up at the blue sky while he debated whether or not it was worth his while to bother to get up right now. _In a few minutes_, he decided, yawning out loud. 

"Goten, who was that?" Bulma asked curiously. "Gosh, he looked cute!" She giggled as she recalled the pink streaks in the man's hair. "If you don't take into account that pink hair!" 

"That's my grandpa, Bardock. Me and Trunks and Vegeta played a prank on him and Uncle Radditz and put pink dye in their hair." Goten grinned in embarrassment. Spotting the sleeping forms of Trunks and Goku, he darted over and started shaking his two friends awake. "Trunks! Goku! Wake up! Bulma's here! And she brought the you-know-what with her!" 

Sitting up with the blankets still on top of them, Trunks and Goku stretched and looked at the two newcomers. Goku grinned and jumped out of his blankets. "Hiya, Bulma! Hey, Yamcha! I didn't think you'd come, too! It's great to see you again!" 

"Wow! You two really are twins! If it weren't for the clothes, there's no way I could tell you apart," Yamcha commented, looking from one chibi to the other. 

Finally having had enough, Goten stamped his little foot in frustration. "But we're _not_ twins! I keep trying to tell you that!" 

"What do you mean?" Bulma asked crossly. If there was one thing she hated, it was having someone contradicting her. "You two sure as hell _look_ like twins, and you_ are_ brothers, so unless there's some age difference that I'm not aware of, then you _are_ twins." She folded her arms and glared down at the two look-alikes. 

Goku and Goten blinked in surprise, then looked at each other. "How old are you, Goku?" Goten asked. 

"Seven. You?" 

"Eight. Wow, I didn't realize I was older than you!" 

"Weird," Trunks muttered to himself, grinning. "Goten's older than his dad!" 

~*~ 

Still feeling groggy from not getting enough sleep, Bardock stretched lazily, easing cramps from his muscles that he'd gotten from sleeping on the roof. He hadn't meant to fall asleep out here, but he must have dozed off during his contemplation of the night before. Recalling what he'd been thinking about, he sighed and buried his face in his hands. He still didn't know what he was going to do about his personal dilemma. Saiya-jin society dictated that one was supposed to remain cold and emotionless while in the presence of strangers. However, Goten, Goku, and Trunks wouldn't know that. They wouldn't understand if he suddenly became a different person. They'd gotten so used to him being affectionate around them, or at least Trunks and Goten had, that if he reverted back to his warrior self, they would be confused and perhaps hurt. _Kami, what am I supposed to do?_

Lifting his head from his hands, his sensitive nose caught a whiff of himself and a came to the conclusion that, before he could do anything else, he at least needed to take a shower. He stood up and levitated down to the ground, pulling off the pink BADMAN shirt in preparation for the shower he planned on taking. He could wash the shirt after he showered. Stepping through the door of Kame house, he heard Trunks say, "Weird. Goten's older than his dad!" 

"Goten's older than Goku?" Bardock asked, slightly surprised. From what he could tell, the two boys looked the same age. Everyone in the room turned to look at him when he said that. 

"Grandpa!" Goten shouted at the same time as Goku yelled, "Otousan!" In unison, the twin father and son team tackled Bardock, who caught them in his arms with a startled look, dropping the pink shirt to the floor. Despite his earlier conflict over whether or not to show his affection for his family in front of strangers, he couldn't help but grin and hug the two chibis to his chest. 

"Good Kami, he's hot!" Bulma breathed, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open slightly in stunned amazement. She hadn't really gotten a good look at him earlier, just a view of his head, and that was at a distance. Now he was standing only a few feet away, and without his shirt on, she could see quite clearly that he was a fighter, his toned muscles rippling smoothly across his chest in a way that Bulma found hypnotizing. His features were finely chiseled, his chin delicately pointed, his nose strong and set perfectly in between his eyes, firm, determined eyebrows arching over his eyes, two midnight pools that threatened to swallow Bulma in their infinite depths. _I wonder if this is what Son-kun will look like when he grows up?_ she thought dazedly, feeling her heart fluttering around in her chest. Suddenly becoming aware of her reaction, she mentally shook herself. _Bulma, you're only eleven years old! Get a hold of yourself!___

Bringing herself out of her stupor, she suddenly realized that Bardock was giving her an odd look, one eyebrow cocked questioningly. Blushing furiously, she introduced herself. "Goten already told you my name, but I'm Bulma Briefs. Er... I'd offer to shake your hand, but it looks like they're full. This is my friend, Yamcha." She pointed at the boy who stood next to her. 

Glancing down at the two boys clinging to him, Bardock chuckled slightly, then looked again at the blue haired girl. "I'm Bardock. Goku's father." 

Bulma frowned as something that Goten had said twice now caught her attention. "Goten called you 'grandpa'," she said, almost accusingly. She didn't need to say anything else. Everyone knew what she was really asking. Bardock didn't look old enough to _have _grandchildren. And how could Goten be Bardock's grandson, when he was older than Bardock's son, Goku? And wasn't Goten Goku's brother? 

Bardock closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. If his hands hadn't been full, he would have rubbed his forehead, feeling the signs of an oncoming headache. "It's a long story, and I don't really feel up to telling it right now." He put Goten and Goku on the floor, grabbed the pink shirt, and straightened up. "I'm going to take a shower. One of the boys will explain everything, I'm sure." Hopefully the shower would help wake him up and sort out the jumble of thoughts and emotions in his mind. 

As Bardock left the room, Bulma could only stare at his retreating form, still slightly in awe of the incredible good looks he possessed. Once he disappeared from view, though, she rounded on the three younger boys in the room and glared at them, her hands on her hips in an aggressive manner. "Well? Are you going to explain what the _hell_ is going on or not?!" 

Goten and Trunks gulped nervously, being more than passingly familiar with Bulma's roller coaster temper. Goku only smiled and Yamcha edged away from his friend slightly. He, too, knew that if Bulma got mad, she wouldn't hesitate to take it out on the nearest person. 

"Kisama! Can't you baka gakis shut the hell up and let me get some sleep?!" A very enraged and grumpy Vegeta stormed into the room, his eyes red and bleary from just waking up, though his hair still looked the same, jutting upwards in the shape of a black flame. His tail lashed from side to side as he glared from one person to the next. "Who the hell are you two weaklings?" he sneered, raking his eyes up and down both Bulma and Yamcha in a disapproving manner. 

~*~ 

*grins* Yup. I'm ending this chapter here! *dodges rotten vegetables* Hee hee. Oh, and I might get the next chapter out late, too, depending on if I feel better or not. *dodges some old smelly boots that get thrown at her* Sorry, but when I feel sick, I tend to sleep parts of the day away! 

Anyway, how'd I do on this chapter? Sorry if it seems like I'm neglecting Yamcha, but Yamcha isn't going to play a major role in this fic. Maybe if I do a Bulma and Vegeta fic he'll play a bigger role, but he'll probably just stay in the background for the most part in this fic. I have my hands full just dealing with Vegeta, Bulma, Goku, Goten, Trunks, Bardock, and the other secondary characters! 

Reviewers: I'm still accepting Bulma and Vegeta insults! Also, give me your opinion on what Bardock should finally decide about his internal conflict. To be soft, or not to be soft! That is the question! *grins* Although it's a lot deeper than just that. 

Anyway, please review! 


	31. Sparks And Bubbles Fly

Eeep... I wasn't expecting to get to 600 reviews until _after_ I posted this chapter! Speaking of which... DemonDancing is my 600th reviewer. Nothing big, just a bit of fame. ^_^ One of these days I'll write another Review Special, but I'm just not feeling motivated to do it. But thank you all soooo much for reviewing! Makes me feel so special. ^_^ 

Okay, I lied. There might be a _little_ attraction between Bulma and Vegeta... kinda like the attraction between two oppositely charged live wires. *grins broadly* But it won't get romantic! They might be mature for their ages, but they're still little kids! 

I really don't imagine any of you will take it this way, but, once again, I state that this is not a yaoi fic. 

Warning: This chapter contains profuse (or more profuse than any of my other chapters) swearing. It's Bulma and Vegeta, after all. 

Disclaimer: Dis claimer ain't claimin' dis! Er... wait... I meant to say 'This claimer isn't claiming DBZ.' ^_^ I claim the story, though. Lucky me, ne? 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Sparks And Bubbles Fly) 

Bulma glared at the newcomer, irked by the delay this would cause in getting the answers she wanted. The boy, who looked to be about a year younger than her, was slightly shorter than her with tall, flame-like black hair that defied gravity. For someone so young, she had to admit that his body was pretty toned. No, not toned. Built was the word for it. If it weren't for the scowl on his face, she would have said he had potential to grow up to be a very handsome guy. These thoughts, however, were not on her mind when she opened her mouth to respond to what he had just said. "Well, _someone_ woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she snapped, staring down her nose at the rude little boy. "You know, you really shouldn't swear like that in front of kids." She conveniently ignored the fact that she hadn't exactly been watching her language, either. Besides, a little mild cussing was one thing. What this boy had said went a little beyond 'mild'. 

"I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji, so I can say whatever the hell I want to, bitch!" Vegeta shot back. Their eyes met and you could almost see sparks flying between them as the tension mounted. "And speaking of bed, did you just crawl out of it? Or is that how you always look? Because that's the only explanation I can think of for why you're so damn ugly!" Actually, the girl wasn't _that_ bad looking, if you discounted the silly blue hair she sported, but he wasn't about to say that! 

The girl bared her teeth in a silent snarl and clenched her fists in an effort to control herself. _I spent an hour and a half getting ready this morning and he has the gall to suggest I'm ugly?!_ "Kusottare!! I'll have you know that I'm considered extremely pretty for my age, you jerk!" 

"Really?" Vegeta smirked. "Then I'd hate to see what the rest of the females on this planet look like, although it's hard to imagine anyone uglier than you!" 

"You're one to talk! What'd you do to yourself to get _that_ hair? Stick a fork in an electrical outlet? That would also explain the brain damage you've obviously suffered." 

Vegeta reached up and touched a lock of his hair, a defensive look on his face. "This is the hair style all of the men of the royal bloodline of Vegeta-sei bear," he said disdainfully. "And what about _you_? What did you do to your hair to get it to be such an unnatural color? Did you dye it like that or," he paused, smiling slyly, "is it really a wig?" 

With a shriek of outrage, Bulma's hand slashed through the air towards the prince's face, only to stop in mid swing as the boy lazily reached up and grabbed her wrist. He smirked dangerously as she struggled futilely against his iron grip. "Let me go, you bastard!" 

"Why should I?" Vegeta purred, his smirk broadening even further. "You're the one who tried to hit me, after all. On Vegeta-sei, I could have you killed for that. Baka onna." He tightened his grip until Bulma let out a small whimper of pain. 

"Vegeta!" Trunks snapped, deciding this had gone far enough. Better put a stop to this before someone got hurt. Namely his mother. "Let Bulma go. Right. Now." He raised his ki threateningly, letting his chibi father know in no uncertain terms that he meant business. He could almost have sworn that the young prince _pouted_ as he let the girl's hand go. Trunks shook it off as only his imagination. 

"Fine," the ten year old boy growled. "But I will not be so lenient the next time she dares to raise a hand against the Prince of all Saiyans." Folding his arms against his chest, he leaned back against the wall and gave Bulma a death glare, which was met by an equally heated glare from Bulma as she rubbed her sore wrist. 

"Kono yaro," she muttered under her breath. Vegeta only smirked. 

Clenching his fists tightly, the lavender haired boy narrowed his eyes. "Vegeta, you are not allowed to kill or maim anyone on this planet unless they actually pose a threat. Got it?" Vegeta's gaze shifted from Bulma to his future son, growling faintly. However, upon seeing the deadly serious expression in in the boy's crystal ice blue eyes, he grimaced and bobbed his head once, more in acknowledgment of the threat than any real submission. Guessing that this was as good as he was going to get, Trunks sighed and turned to Bulma. "Bulma, may I have the hair dye please?" 

"Sure, kid," she said, shooting a final glare at Vegeta. "At least _someone_ has some manners!" Reaching into her purse, she pulled out two bottles of hair dye. "Okay, this one is the black dye, and this one is brown. It has to set in the hair for five minutes before it can be rinsed out, but that's as complicated as it gets." 

"Arigato, Bulma!" Trunks said, giving his future mother a smile as he took the dye and gave it to Goku. "Goku, do you wanna go give this to your dad?" Goku nodded enthusiastically and dashed off with the dye, eager to do something that would make his father happy. Goten started to follow after the Saiyan boy, but Trunks stopped him, shaking his head. "Let Goku do it, Goten. I need your help here." The younger demi-saiyan glanced at Bulma and Vegeta, then nodded to his best friend. There was no need to specify what Trunks needed help with. 

"Okay, Trunks." 

"Well, then, back to business," the human girl stated firmly, eyeing the two chibis in front of her. "I believe one of you still owes me an explanation. And," she added, her brain catching up to her now that it wasn't clouded in fury, "what's up with all this talk of Saiyans and a planet Vegeta?" 

_There's really no way to break this to her gently,_ Trunks mused silently. _Well, here goes..._ He pulled his tail out from behind him where it had been hidden from Bulma's view, then pointed at Vegeta's tail, which she had formerly mistaken as a furry brown belt. "Saiyans are another race from the planet Vegeta. The biggest difference between a Saiyan and a human is that Saiyans have tails like these." 

Bulma's eyes widened as she caught sight of the tails on all three boys in the room. Knowing exactly what was coming, Trunks and Goten covered their sensitive ears. Unfortunately for Vegeta, he did not. 

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!" 

~*~ 

In another part of the house, Krillen, Master Roshi, and Radditz shot up out of bed in alarm as an ear piercing shriek shook the house to its foundation. Recognizing the owner of the voice, Krillen and Master Roshi grumbled in annoyance and sank back down onto their futons. Radditz frowned at them in confusion. "Aren't you going to go find out what that was?" 

"Nope," the old Turtle Hermit muttered. "I know who that was, and she's always screaming about one thing or another. Best not get too close to her when she's yelling at someone else. Or when she's yelling period. Unless, of course, you _want_ to permanently damage your hearing." 

"Who is it?" a bewildered Radditz asked. He didn't recall meeting any females besides Lunch, and she didn't sound anything like the banshee who had just screeched loud enough to be heard halfway across the world. 

"It's just Bulma," Krillen yawned, burying his head under his pillow. "If she's not yelling at you, it's better if you just ignore her." 

Radditz shook his head and pulled on his clothes. Whatever was going on in the other part of the house, he wanted to know what it was. The two humans just sighed as they watched him exit the room. It was his life, after all. If he wanted to risk his neck, that was his problem. 

~*~ 

Making his way towards the bathroom, Goku clutched the two bottles to his chest and grinned happily, the argument between Bulma and Vegeta already forgotten. He hadn't understood most of what they had been saying, anyway, only that they were mad at each other for some strange reason. Completely forgetting to knock, he opened the door to the bathroom and walked inside the room. The door shut behind him with a soft click. 

"Daddy?" he asked tentatively, looking around for the familiar figure of his father. The sound of running water filled the air and Goku's eyes focused in the direction of the source of the noise. Behind a plastic curtain, he could vaguely make out the familiar outline of his father, who seemed to be just standing there. "Daddy?" he asked again, walking towards the curtained off area. 

The curtain peeled back to reveal a naked and soaking wet Bardock standing in a stream of water, looking at Goku questioningly. The boy opened his mouth to tell Bardock about the hair dye, but closed it when he saw the water spraying out of a pipe set into the wall. "Wow! Neat! There's a cloud inside that metal thingy! How'd you do that, tousan?" 

"You've never seen a shower before?" Bardock chuckled, crouching down so his eyes were level with his son's. 

Goku lifted one hand behind his head in a confused gesture. "Of course I have. Showers are when it rains outside, right? I've seen lots of those, but I've never seen it rain inside a house before!" 

"Not that kind of shower," the older Saiyan explained, utterly amused by his son's naiveté. "The shower I'm talking about is when someone pushes water through a pipe like this one so you can get clean. It's kind of like being in a rain storm, I guess, except you can have hot or cold water." Looking at his son's smudged nose and arms speculatively, he added, "Would you like to take a shower with me?" 

Staring in awe at the rain-making pipe on the wall, Goku could only nod speechlessly. He quickly stripped off the blue gi he was wearing and hopped into the shower with his dad. A laugh bubbled from his lips as he was hit by the steaming water shooting out of the shower head. "You were right! It's a rain storm with hot water! This is neat, daddy!" Slipping on the slick surface of the tile floor, he lurched forward and grabbed onto Bardock's legs for support. 

Bardock laughed and ruffled Goku's now-wet hair affectionately with one hand, reaching out with the other hand for the bottle labeled 'shampoo'. During the trip to Earth, Trunks had explained the uses of various cleansers commonly stored in bathrooms. "Hold still, Goku," he said, squeezing some of the bottle's contents into his hand. The boy did as he was told while Bardock stared massaging the fluid into the chibi's spiky black hair until it became a foamy mass of bubbles and hair. 

"Hey, this is kinda like that bath Bulma made me take when I first met her!" Goku exclaimed in delight. A blob of suds fell from his head and landed on his nose, making the seven year old giggle as he reached up to rub it off. Grinning mischievously, he reached up and wiped the foam onto his father's nose. Bardock grinned back at him and tickled the boy's chin with the tip of his tail. Goku laughed as he tried to fend off the pink and brown appendage. "That reminds me!" He wobbled over to the edge of the shower stall and reached past the curtain, picking up the two bottles he had abandoned on the floor. "Bulma brought hair dye, tousan!" Goku beamed up at the older man, quit pleased with himself as he offered the two bottles to his father. "This one is brown, and this one is black. Me, Trunks, and Goten thought it'd help you feel better, since you looked sad yesterday." The cheerful expression on his face turned to one of concern as he recalled how his father had looked before he had run outside. 

Seeing the concern written across his son's face, Bardock's face softened and he felt his heart melting inside him. As he took the two bottles and set them on the floor, he gave his son a warm smile and lifted the boy up to give him a strong hug. "Thank you, my son," he whispered, truly touched by the gesture. An inner resolve formed inside him as he realized that he could never hide his love for his family, even in the presence of strangers. Suppress it a little, maybe, but there was no way in hell he could maintain a cold exterior in the presence of such sunny dispositions as his son and grandson possessed. 

"You're welcome, daddy," Goku said, smiling innocently as his father set him back down. "Hey, since you washed my hair, how 'bout I wash yours? I can put that dye in for you, too!" 

"Okay, it's a deal," Bardock replied, sitting down so his son could get at his hair. He smiled contentedly as he felt the boy's small fingers in his hair, spreading a cool, soothing liquid onto every strand. Behind him, Goku giggled a bit as he had fun playing with his father's hair even while he was putting the dye in. Even as wet as the stuff was, it was still trying to defy gravity. 

"You gotta keep your head out of the water for five minutes, daddy," he stated, remembering what Bulma had said earlier. "So the dye will work." Bardock nodded his understanding and shifted his body to make sure his head was out of the path of the stream of water. Satisfied that he had done all he could with Bardock's hair, Goku picked up the other bottle of dye. "I'm gonna do your tail now, okay?" Not waiting for an answer, he grabbed his dad's tail and started to rub the brown dye in. 

Bardock cried out in pain and fell forward, curling up into a ball as waves of pain shot up and down his spine. He tried to tell Goku to let go of his tail, but the only thing that came out was a strangled whimper. Alarmed by the reaction, Goku guiltily released his dad's tail and knelt by his side. His eyes watered as he realized what he'd done. "Daddy? Are you okay? Daddy, I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm sorry! I was just trying to help, really! I'm sorry!" 

Regaining a little bit of his strength, the Saiya-jin warrior uncurled from his fetal position and sat up, gingerly holding his sore tail in one hand. He chuckled weakly and reached out to pull Goku into a comforting hug. "Shh... it's okay. You just squeezed too hard, that's all. I'll be fine." He figured he did a pretty good job at hiding the residual pain he was feeling, because his son relaxed in his arms and hugged him back. "But how about I finish putting the dye in my own tail?" he suggested warily. "You can finish cleaning up while I do that, then we can go give the dye to your brother." He repressed a shiver at the thought of having his tail squeezed again. No need to let his son know how much that had really hurt, or that he was afraid that it would happen again if he allowed his son a second chance. 

Fortunately for both of them, Goku accepted Bardock's decision without question or complaint. The two finished cleaning up, slowly relaxing in each other's company once again, but not quite to where they had been before the incident. When they were done, Bardock was pleased to note that his hair was once again solid black and that his tail no longer sported any trace of pink. Smiling, he rubbed his son's hair dry, then followed suit with his own while Goku pulled on his clothes. 

~*~ 

Bulma is such a hypocrite. She scolds Vegeta for swearing in front of the chibis, and then promptly cusses him out! *laughs* Don't worry, that isn't the last you'll hear from them. There are still many more insults to come. *smirks* But I like to balance my chapters evenly, instead of concentrating on just one scene for the whole time. I'm sure you all understand. 

Cassie- Refer to Important Author Explanation under section 26. I explain all there. 

Vegetarocks87- *sniffles* My computer can't handle music videos because it's an ancient piece of junk. I used to be able to watch music videos from my brother's computer, but it broke down. *sniffles* Thanks for the thought anyway. ^_^ 

Amie-chan- Bardock refers to his son as "Goku" instead of "Kakarot" because he recognizes the fact that Goku probably wouldn't understand who he was talking to if Bardock called him "Kakarot". Besides which, I'm a lazy author and it'd be a pain to have to keep switching back and forth. ^_^ I just settled on having Bardock call him "Goku". 

Once again, thank you all sooo much for reviewing! And thanks for the help with Bulma and Vegeta insults! Since I'm not through with them insulting each other, if you think of any other good insults, let me know, please. ^_^ Speaking of which, please let me know how I did with those two in this chapter! And anything else you might have to say, too. I love reviews! (hint hint) ^_^ 

(A/N: I've lost my list of stories to advertise, so until I find it again, no advertisements. Sorry!) 


	32. MonkeyBoy

This chapter is a filler chapter. Mainly contains character development and tying up some loose ends that have to be tied before I can go on with the rest of the story. I'm sure you all understand. 

Disclaimer: Maybe if I say it enough times, it'll come true... *closes her eyes* I own DBZ. I own DBZ. I own DBZ. I own DBZ. *continues in this vein for several minutes* *opens her eyes and looks around* Well? Did it work? Do I own DBZ yet? 

Random lawyer: No! And if you keep saying you own DBZ when you don't, I'll sue you! 

Brenda: *cries* Waaaaah! I don't own DBZ!!! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Monkey-Boy) 

"Damn it to hell, onna!!!" Vegeta cried out, covering his ears in pain. "Are you trying to make me _deaf_?!" 

Bulma ignored him, looking as though she'd just been hit by a ton of bricks. She stared at Trunk's tail, then Vegeta's then Goten's, and back to Trunk's tail. For a few moments, her mouth worked, but nothing came out. Finally gathering her wits, she stammered, "Y-you mean you're all _aliens_?!" Trunks nodded, not willing to go into details about how he and Goten were only half-alien. He didn't want to raise questions about who their parents were. Especially not _his_ parents! 

"Amazing! The onna has a brain!" Vegeta commented sarcastically. "Even if it's only large enough to comprehend the obvious." 

"Which is more than I can say for you, monkey-boy!" she shot back, snapped out of her daze as anger sparked again. "No offense to you two," she hastily added, talking to Goten and Trunks. The two boys only grinned and shook their heads to indicate that they had taken no offense. Kami knew they were used to Bulma's insults by now! 

One corner of Vegeta's eye started to twitch involuntarily as Bulma inadvertently used the insult that all Saiya-jin hated with a passion. "What did you call me?" he hissed between clenched teeth. His nostrils flared and his face darkened with rage as he took an aggressive step towards the offending ningen. 

"I called you monkey-boy," Bulma taunted, unaware of the danger she was walking into. "What, is your intelligence so low that you have to have me repeat myself? It must hurt to be that stupid." 

Three things happened at that moment. A curious Radditz stepped into the room in time to hear what Bulma had just said. An infuriated Vegeta roared and launched himself at Bulma. And a frantic Trunks threw himself between his parents, grappling with the Saiyan Prince to keep him from killing the blue haired girl. 

"Let me go, brat!" the prince screamed in fury as he was wrestled to the ground. "No one insults the Saiya-jin no Ouji and lives!" 

"And I said," Trunks grunted as he pinned his father to the floor, "no killing anyone who isn't a threat! Do I need to beat that into your thick skull, or will you calm down and behave?" His angry blue eyes met Vegeta's furious obsidian eyes as a contest of wills raged back and forth between them. In the end, Vegeta growled and turned his head to the side, breaking eye contact in a gesture of defeat. Satisfied, the lavender haired boy let go of the Saiyan and sat up, only to turn his glare on the startled looking Bulma. "And _you_!" Bulma jumped in surprise. "Do you _have_ to use the most insulting term possible for a Saiyan?" he asked, forgetting momentarily that this Bulma didn't know how infuriating the word 'monkey' was. He would have forbidden them from insulting the each other outright, except he knew that with Bulma and Vegeta there wasn't a chance in hell that would happen. 

Bulma blinked owlishly. "Huh?" 

"Monkey," Radditz answered her shortly. "You called Prince Vegeta a monkey. If you say that to a Saiya-jin, you're practically begging to be attacked." He gave her an appraising look and folded his arms. "I'm Radditz." 

"I'm Bulma Briefs." Glancing at the newcomer, Bulma was, for the second time that day, struck speechless. Before her stood a teenage boy, perhaps fifteen years old, with spiky black hair that fell in a mane down to his knees. His facial features were fine and delicate, but possessed a sense of strength that she found intriguing. He, too, had the graceful, muscled body of a fighter, though without the excessive bulk that body-builders had. The resemblance to Bardock wasn't as strong as Goku's was, but it was, nonetheless, unmistakable. Bulma knew without a doubt that _this_ was the brother Goku had told her about. _I think I'm in love..._ A faint blush crossed her cheeks as she stared unashamedly at the Saiyan teenager. She blinked. _Speaking of brothers..._

"You still haven't explained to me about Goten's relationship to Goku," she said, tearing her eyes away from the cute boy so she could impale Trunks with her gaze. She could ogle boys later. She was a woman... er.. girl... on a mission, and she would not stop until she had the answers she sought. Now was the time to find out what was going on. 

Eyeing his mother's past self warily, Trunks squirmed uncomfortably beneath her stare. Even as an eleven year old girl, she could still make him feel like a bug under a microscope. "Goten is Goku's son," he muttered quickly, barely loud enough for everyone to hear. 

"NANI?!?!" Bulma and Yamcha shrieked in unison. Yamcha had remained silent up until this point, figuring that Bulma could handle the situation without any help from him, but was unable to keep quiet any longer. All four Saiyans present winced and covered their sensitive ears. Trunks sighed. He could already tell it was going to be a long day, starting with a long explanation. 

~*~ 

By the time Bardock and Goku emerged from the bathroom, still slightly damp but clean and fully clothed, Trunks and finished explaining his and Goten's presence in the past. Having gotten bored halfway through the explanation, Vegeta, Goten, and Radditz had gone outside to continue fishing for breakfast, Goten promising Trunks that he'd catch enough for his friend so that Trunks could finish the story and still be able to eat breakfast. Now that he had finally cleared everything up for Bulma and Yamcha, Trunks had rejoined his friend outside, only to find that, between the three Saiyans, they had already caught enough food to feed everyone, which Lunch was now beginning to cook. When Trunks gave Goten a surprised look, Goten had shrugged and simply said, "We were bored, so we had a contest to see who could catch the most stuff the fastest. I won." He beamed with pride. Vegeta growled and stomped off to sit under the tree. 

Feeding six hungry Saiya-jin and five ningen is no simple matter, so breakfast was taking a long time. Bardock figured it was a perfect opportunity to begin teaching his son how to fly and fight, so he picked the boy up and headed to a slightly more secluded part of the island. Goten and Trunks had watched from a distance for a few minutes as the older Saiyan began explaining the basics of flight, then quickly grew bored and had started sparring against each other. By silent agreement, they had taken to the air and kept the fight well away from the island to avoid doing any damage to the place or its inhabitants. That left Vegeta and Radditz sitting on the beach with the stupefied Bulma and Yamcha. The two humans had gaped openly when the two demi-saiyans had taken to the air, and they still wore their expressions of bewildered amazement. 

Vegeta snorted in amusement, then glanced at Radditz. Using his newly learned ability to sense ki, he appraised the older boy carefully, and found that he was pitifully weak in comparison to the Saiya-jin no Ouji. Unfortunately, all of the worthy potential sparring partners were occupied, leaving the prince with the only options of either waiting around uselessly for the human female to finish cooking breakfast, or sparring with the low-class teenager. It wasn't a difficult decision to make. 

"You," he said, looking directly at the other Saiyan. "Spar with me." At least there was _someone_ he could still order around! With Bardock and the two chibis all being stronger than him, Radditz was the only one he could count on to take him seriously due to his superior strength. 

"S-spar with you?" Radditz gulped, his eyes widening in surprise and fear. He knew perfectly well that Vegeta more than outstripped him in strength and skill. The blood drained from his face as he thought of the inevitable outcome that a fight with Vegeta would have for him. Vegeta would pound him into the dirt in no time. 

"Yes, spar with me, you baka low-class!" the Prince snarled in annoyance. "Do you see anyone else around here who even knows _how_ to fight?" 

"Hey, I can fight," Yamcha protested, wondering why Vegeta had dismissed him out of hand to casually. Vegeta just snorted in amusement and ignored him. 

"Radditz doesn't have to fight if he doesn't want to," Bulma said firmly, stepping between Radditz and Vegeta when she realized that Radditz wasn't going to defend his rights against the younger boy. With her back to the teen, she couldn't see Radditz frantically shaking his head, but she did feel his hand on her shoulder, pulling her gently away from Vegeta. Her stomach fluttered wildly as she realized it was _his_ hand that was touching her. "Huh?" 

"Vegeta is my prince," Radditz stated calmly, managing to keep his voice steady despite the sick feeling in his gut. "If he wants me to fight with him, I can only obey." Despite the paleness of his face, he managed to step past the human girl without any noticeable trembling. 

"Just make sure you don't injure him too badly," Bardock called sternly from above, where he was floating in the air holding one of Goku's hands. The child appeared to be having difficulty staying afloat, constantly dipping dipping in altitude, sometimes depending completely on Bardock's grip to keep from plummeting to the ground. "We don't have any senzu beans or regen tanks available, after all, and I'd rather not have my son spending the next several days recovering from sparring with you, Prince Vegeta." 

Scowling in irritation, the ten year old Saiyan nodded sharply. "Fine. I'll try not to damage him _too_ much." He pulled off his shirt and crouched in a fighting stance, waiting for Radditz to do the same. As the teenager removed his shirt and shifted into a defensive position, Bulma promptly bit back any more protests about Radditz fighting Vegeta as she got a good look at his body. A dreamy expression clouded her eyes and drool started trickling from the corner of her mouth. Yamcha noticed this and frowned, but said nothing. He was used to Bulma behaving oddly from time to time, though he'd never seen her act like _this_ before. 

Up in the air, Bardock turned his attention back to his struggling son. Goku was an incredibly fast learner, he had to give him that, but he learned techniques incompletely. He had picked up on the concept of manipulating his ki to push himself off the ground, and had even succeeded in doing so within a few minutes, but maintaining his flight was another story entirely. He pulled his son up once again as the boy suddenly dropped towards the ground once again. 

"Come on, Goku, concentrate!" he urged the boy, trying to keep his impatience out of the tone. His progress was, after all, quite remarkable considering he had only been working on it for the past half hour. Still, it became somewhat frustrating to watch his son constantly meet with partial success because of something as simple as a lack of concentration. "It's easy once you get the hang of it, but in order to do that, you need to focus on what you're doing." If there was one thing Goku had problems with, it was his ability to focus on one thing for an extended period of time. 

"I'm sorry, tousan, but it's just that I'm so hungry!" Goku whimpered. He really wanted to learn this technique, he really did! But hunger had always had a way of making him unable to concentrate on anything, no matter how important it was. As if to prove his point, his stomach growled loudly and he dipped in the air again, only to be pulled up by his father before he could actually fall into the ocean. 

Bardock sweatdropped at his son's excuse, then laughed sheepishly as he recalled what it was like to be seven years old with an empty belly. No wonder he had poor attention right now! "Breakfast should be about ready, and you've done well for your first try, so why don't we take a break, okay?" Flipping Goku up onto his shoulders, he shot through the sky back towards the Turtle House, both of them whooping with delight as the wind played through their hair and thoughts of good food cooked by Lunch danced through their heads. 

~*~ 

Yes, yes, yes, I know, Bulma is only eleven, she can't possibly be in love with Radditz. It's called a 'crush'. I decided to have Bulma develop a crush on Radditz. Remember how I mentioned waaaay back many chapters ago when I first decided to make Radditz fifteen, but would say _why_ I wanted him fifteen? Well, now you know! Haha! 

Saiyantamer- Ahhh! You caught me! *grins guiltily* Was it that obvious? *scratches the back of her head sheepishly* Although, to be completely honest, I also wrote that scene partly to see how Baka-sama (and others) would react. *smirks* It was also just plain fun to write such a kawaii scene! But, yes, I had hentai thoughts in mind when I made the Bardock shower scene. ^_^ (non-yaoi, you perverts!) And, yes, I did use one or two reader suggestions on insults. I'm trusting the given reader to recognize his/her insult when he/she sees it, because I'm not going to give any credit for using the insults. That would be more of a pain than I want to deal with. Sorry! 

Jenn- Yes, Goku knows how much it hurts to have your tail gripped, but keep in mind that he's never gripped _someone else's_ tail before. Big difference between holding your tail and someone else's. Also, it was really an accident that he squeezed that hard on Bardock's tail. 

Sorry if this chapter is a little slow, but it's really more of a filler chapter than anything else. I said that already, didn't I. Oh well. Anyway, despite how dull this chapter must be for you guys, please review! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Wild Occurrences" by MintlytheBADgoddess, story id 708217, is a terrific story about Pan in an alternate universe! What if Pan used a prototype time machine to travel into the past? What if instead of going back, she ended up on Vegeta-sei? It's a Trunks and Pan fic of high quality (in my humble opinion). Bardock even shows up in it, too, though he's not a main character. Please go read it and review so the author will keep writing it! 


	33. Radditz

Well, so far that's the longest I've gone without posting a chapter for this story. *scratches the back of her head and grins sheepishly* But, hey, I needed a break. Had problems with insomnia, writer's block, little sister wanting to be online, and... *pauses dramatically* I wanted to work on something else. ^_^ (Warning: Shameless plug alert!) I wrote a one-shot humor fiction called Goteneo and Truliet (no! It's not yaoi!) during the time that I took my break. Now that it's done, I'm back to work on Wish For The Past. 

Disclaimer: *scratches her head in confusion* Is there anyone out there who actually believes I own DBZ? 'Cause I don't. Sorry to disappoint you if you thought I owned it. ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Radditz) 

_He's taking it easy on me, _Radditz noted, not sure whether to be annoyed or relieved. On the one hand, it was damn irritating to be thought of as weak enough that the Prince had to pull his punches. On the other hand, he was grateful because he really would rather not end up spending the next few weeks in bed with every bone in his body broken. Narrowly dodging a lazy punch, he pushed aside all concerns about strength and weakness and concentrated only on the fight at hand. He had to admit, it felt good to finally be doing something physical for a change, exercising muscles that hadn't had a chance to be used in over a week. 

By silent agreement, both fighters remained firmly on the ground and relied only on their bodies, not using ki blasts of any sort. In this way, their bodies were put under more stress and the odds against Radditz were evened, even if it was only by a little. It also made sure that no stray ki bombs hit the house. The only thing they had to worry about was _not_ hitting the ground so hard that it sunk the island. Or, in Vegeta's case, hitting his opponent so hard that it knocked him through the walls of the Kame house. All in all, it was definitely a challenge on both fighters' parts. 

Radditz winced as he blocked yet another kick from the superior Vegeta, gritting his teeth against the pain. _Damn it, he's just too strong! Even blocking his blows hurts like hell! _He inwardly cursed when his prince smirked and brought a fist into Radditz's gut, knocking the breath out of him and nearly breaking a rib in the process. _Wait a minute! He's just completely left his guard down right there, probably because he's confidant I won't be able to take advantage of it because of the pain I'm in right now. Guess it's up to me to prove him wrong, ne? _Grimacing through the pain, the older boy swept a leg around the other Saiyan's legs, knocking them out from under him. Sweat dripped into his eyes as he hastily jerked away from Vegeta, who had turned his fall into a roll that brought his feet up towards Radditz's unprotected crotch. That would have hurt if it had been successful. A lot. 

Leaping back to his feet, Vegeta grinned predatorily as he stalked towards his prey. He had been holding back the entire time to avoid ending the match too quickly, but that fall proved that Radditz, while pathetically weak compared to him, was at least a fairly intelligent opponent. _Even so, I'm surprised he's managed to last this long against me._ Radditz had managed to get the better of Vegeta in the fight, even if it was only for a brief moment, and now he would pay, and the young prince would enjoy every moment of it. With lightning speed that Radditz couldn't hope to match, he zipped in past the teenager's defenses and slammed a knee into the boy's stomach. Radditz doubled over the knee in agony, spitting up blood and saliva, though to his credit he did not cry out. Vegeta was impressed. Smirking evilly, he decided to make an... impression... of his own by lacing his fingers together to form a doubled up fist, which he smashed into Radditz's back with enough force to nearly snap his spine. Not quite, but enough that he would definitely be feeling that bruise for days. To his satisfaction, the older Saiya-jin screamed in agony, despite all his self control. Vegeta snagged a handful of his opponent's spiky mane and lifted his head up to eye level. 

"You should be proud of yourself, you know," the shorter boy said smugly, laughing at Radditz's pain contorted features. "You nearly made me break a sweat." With that, he disdainfully tossed the teen away and turned his back on him. Radditz's body hit the ground and continued to roll from the momentum of the throw until he came to a stop face down in the dirt at the horrified Bulma's feet. Vegeta ignored them and grabbed his shirt from off the ground, walking into the house so he could get cleaned up before breakfast was served. 

For a split second, Bulma was torn between the impulse to attack the stuck up prince in hopes of inflicting some damage to either his body or his stupid pride and tending to the fallen warrior at her feet. Common sense and concern for Radditz quickly won out and she knelt beside the battered teen and, with extreme exertion on her part, rolled him onto his back. Radditz was breathing heavily through his mouth, his eyes squeezed shut in pain as he fought to remain conscious. Bulma gently brushed her fingers across his cheek, marveling at how resilient the Saiyan boy was. She knew that if she had been through the same thing, she would probably be dead at this point. Her nimble fingers trailed down the teenager's defined chest and arms, tenderly probing for injuries and broken bones. As they encountered multiple bruises just beginning to turn purple and several cuts and scrapes, she winced in sympathy, cursing rather fluently under her breath. 

"Stupid bastard, why'd he have to pick on Radditz?" she muttered fiercely, pulling a handkerchief from her purse so she could wipe some of the dirt from Radditz's wounds. She lifted her head and turned to face Yamcha, who had silently watched the fight from the shade of the tree. "Oi, Yamcha! Go inside and get a first aid kit from Master Roshi!" she ordered. "And make sure it has plenty of bandages and antibiotic!" 

Shaking his head over Bulma's obvious attraction to the teenage Saiyan, Yamcha called back, "Okay, Bulma," and headed into the house to get the medical supplies she wanted. Bulma returned her attention to the object of her affections and smiled faintly, despite her concern. It felt good to put her hands on his well muscled chest, to trace its curves and edges with her finger tips. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, making her glad that she was the only one outside right now. She giggled a bit as she fingered his well defined biceps, imagining the strength that his arms possessed, and how good it would feel to have them wrapped around her. Running her hands through his wild mane of hair, she watched in fascination as nothing she did could rearrange the stubborn spikes. _Now there's a hair stylist's nightmare,_ she chuckled inwardly. _Not that he doesn't look good with that hair. And it's so... soft. I wonder what makes it spike up like that. Must be a Saiyan thing, 'cause the others have gravity defying hair like this, too, except for that boy, Trunks. Is that a coincidence, or is there something different about Trunks?_

"What do you think you're doing?" Radditz asked curiously, opening one eye. Bulma nearly jumped out of her skin and bit back a yelp of surprise, startled out of her train of thought. She snatched her hands back as though she'd burned them, blushing furiously. 

"I-I was just... just checking your wounds," she stammered, staring at the ground in embarrassment. 

"In my hair?" Radditz asked wryly, arching one eyebrow questioningly. 

Bulma opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. _Damn it! Why can't I think of a good excuse! I'm supposed to be a genius, and I can't think of anything to say!_ Eyes darting wildly in search of something to distract Radditz from that line of questioning, she latched onto the form of Yamcha as he exited the house, a box with a red cross on it firmly in hand. "Oh, there's Yamcha!" she blurted out stupidly, jumping up and running over to her friend. "Stay right there until I have a chance to tend those injuries of yours." _Smooth, Bulma, real smooth. He must think I'm a total idiot now. _She grabbed the first aid kit from Yamcha with a quickly muttered thanks, then swiftly returned to Radditz's side, opening the kit and pulling out gauze and rubbing alcohol. 

Eyeing her warily, Radditz tried to sit up, only to find Bulma's hands pushing him back down with all the strength she possessed. He raised his other eyebrow. Even injured as he was, he could easily overpower her if he wanted to. She must know that. So why bother trying to pin him? "You're not going _anywhere_ until I've had a chance to clean those cuts," she snapped with all the force of her iron will behind her voice, making Radditz flinch involuntarily. 

"There's no need for that," he muttered in annoyance. "I'm not really that hurt. If Vegeta-ouji had wanted to hurt me, I wouldn't be conscious right now, if not near death. As it is, I'll be fine with a little rest." 

Bulma scowled and Radditz squirmed under her scrutiny. "Listen, buster, if those cuts don't get cleaned up, they might get an infection, and then no matter how much rest you got, you wouldn't get any better." 

"Saiyans don't get sick," he growled. "Or infections, for that matter. Our immune systems are very aggressive." 

In the background, Yamcha started grinning. _You don't disagree with Bulma, Radditz, no matter how strong you are,_ he thought smugly. _She always gets her way in the end. It's just a question of how unpleasant it is for you until she gets what she wants. _Deciding he wanted to be as far away as possible should Bulma pull one of her famous tantrums, he want back inside the house to await breakfast. 

True to Yamcha's silent predictions, Bulma's face darkened and her eyes narrowed. "You _will _let me clean those cuts, or you _will_ regret it, Radditz," she pronounced in a voice deadly enough to make the bravest man quail in fear, never mind the fact that it came from the mouth of an eleven year old girl. "There's a first time for everything, and I'd rather that first time _not_ be _this_ time!" Radditz suddenly felt the urge to wriggle nervously under her glare. 

"Do as she says, Radditz," Bardock's stern, commanding voice rang clearly through the air, drawing everyone's attention to the speaker. The tall warrior landed softly on the beach, Goku on his shoulders, and walked over to stand in front of his downed son. The obsidian chips that were his eyes drilled into Radditz in a way that brooked no argument. "Just because Saiyans don't get sick often doesn't mean we _don't_ get sick, and I'd rather not have you laid low by some Chikyuu disease we've never heard of before." Bardock's eyes searched his son's face for any sign of rebellion, almost seeming to see into the teenager's very soul, then nodded once, satisfied, and turned his penetrating gaze on Bulma. He said nothing, but his look clearly told her that if she harmed his son in anyway, she would pay the consequences. Bulma nodded her understanding, a little paler than before, and he turned back toward the house, swinging Goku down off his shoulders before then walked through the door. 

Dropping his head back to the ground in resignation, Radditz glared up at the sky while Bulma began rubbing alcohol onto the lacerations that crisscrossed his body, hissing between his teeth at the sting of the liquid seeping into the broken flesh. It was nothing like the soothing comfort that being submersed in a regen tank offered, something that he missed terribly at this point. He forced himself not to flinch as she began to bind the various injuries that covered his body, although he couldn't help the flush of humiliation that tinged his cheeks pink. _I can't believe that I'm allowing myself to be tended to by this weakling chibi onna as though I were some kind of... of invalid! Or that I'm even showing my weakness for everyone to see. What a pitiful excuse for a Saiya-jin I am!_

"Why?" he suddenly asked her, shifting his gaze from the infinite blue expanse to lock onto her equally blue eyes. 

"What?" she asked, startled by the abruptness of the question. She stared into this black eyes, feeling as though she was about to fall into them. She blinked, momentarily breaking the spell he had cast on her. 

"Why are you doing this?" he asked bluntly, his penetrating gaze boring holes into her soul. 

Bulma was suddenly aware of her heart pounding in her chest, in her ears, even in her stomach! She couldn't stop looking into Radditz's eyes, couldn't think, couldn't breath. The only things she was aware of were his eyes and her heartbeat. Somewhere in the back of her mind where her thought processes were only slightly impaired, her mind was screaming at her to say something before she made a total fool out of herself. "I... I... uhh... well, you're... ummm... Goku's brother and all!" she finally managed to blurt out, feeling her cheeks burning hotly. Mentally cursing herself for an idiot, she finished wrapping the final bandage and hastily stuffed the remaining supplies back into the first aid kit. "Umm... breakfast should be ready! Why don't we... er... go eat?" With that said, she stood up and fled, leaving behind a very confused Radditz. 

"What was that all about?" he asked out loud, staring at Bulma's retreating form. He gingerly sat up, being mindful of his injuries, and thought back on the past couple of minutes. _Vegeta beats the crap out of me. I nearly lose consciousness. When I regain my senses, that little girl is messing with my hair. Then she insists on cleaning and binding my wounds, with my father backing her up. I ask her why she's so concerned about me, and I'm not certain I believe the answer she gave me._

Frowning to himself, he got to his feet and headed for the house, mulling the mystery over in his head. _Why did she care about me? Why didn't she want to tell me the truth? And why were her cheeks red like that? It's almost as though she were... Whoa, wait a damn moment! She was _not_ blushing! No! No way!_ Unfortunately, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. _She _can't_ have feelings for me! She's, what, ten? Eleven years old? And besides which, we're not even the same species! How could she possibly be attracted to me?!_

With these thoughts in mind, it was with no little apprehension that he walked into the house where Vegeta, Goku, Bardock, Krillen, Yamcha, Master Roshi... and Bulma... all waited in the kitchen for Lunch to serve breakfast. Now that he knew what to look for, Radditz plainly saw the rapturous looks the blue haired girl threw his way and recognized them for what they were. He thought that he should be flattered by her attention, but, really, it made him feel slightly sick. _I am not a pervert who likes little girls!_ he wanted to shout at her. _And last time I checked, I don't date outside my species._ Hoping that maybe she would get a clue, he ignored her and edged to the far side of the room. 

Bardock gave his son a once-over, examining him to make sure he was all right without appearing to show too much concern, then returned his attentions to Vegeta, who looked as though he had recently stepped out of the shower. Vegeta's gaze flickered to Radditz long enough to smirk at the older boy, then shifted back to watching Lunch set food on the table. "Woman, how long must I be kept waiting?" he growled petulantly. 

"Well, we've got to wait until Trunks and Goten return," she answered simply. "It would be rude to start without them." 

"I am the Prince of all Saiyans. I do not see why I must wait for two baka half-breed brats for any reason!" _Even if one of them is my son,_ he added to himself. 

Bulma's ears almost visibly perked up at the mention of Vegeta's words and she stopped eyeing Radditz in favor of giving Vegeta a scrutinizing look. "What do you mean, half-breed? I thought Trunks and Goten were Saiyans like you." 

"Baka onna," Vegeta snorted. "Goten looks Saiyan enough, but how even someone as stupid as you could mistake Trunks for a full blooded Saiya-jin is beyond me!" 

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, Bulma had a hard time deciding whether to pursue her line of questioning or rise to the prince's bait. She was already furious with the ten year old for beating Radditz up like that and implying he was weak, so insulting her was only adding fuel to the fire. However, when Trunks had explained their situation to her, he had _not_ mentioned anything about him being half-breed. Half Saiyan, half what? The enigma was enough to catch the interest of Bulma's scientific side and she literally itched to know more. Finally deciding that she might not ever have another chance to fish for information again, whereas she _would _have plenty of opportunities to insult his royal pain in the ass, she pushed aside her ire for the moment and concentrated on what was important. 

"So if they're half-breed Saiyans, what's the other half?" 

Suddenly noticing where the conversation was heading, Bardock reached out and clamped a hand over his prince's mouth, scowling darkly at the boy to let him know _not_ to answer that question. He turned his cool gaze back to Bulma and said, "I don't think we should answer that. Knowing too much about the future can be dangerous." Vegeta glared up at the older man and roughly pulled his head away from Bardock's hand. Unfortunately, Bardock was stronger than him, so there was nothing he could do about that affront to his pride except mutter darkly about training to become stronger and teaching Bardock that the Saiya-jin no Ouji was not someone to take lightly. Bardock ignored him. 

Glaring at Bardock, Bulma placed her hands on her hips and drew herself up to her full height, which wasn't very much compared to Bardock. "What's so dangerous about knowing what race their parents are?" she queried, a definite edge to her voice. 

A thoughtful look crossed Bardock's face as he stared down at the human girl. "Hypothetically, what if that race were human? And one of the parents was in this room? Or perhaps one of you knows one of the parents? Or might meet them later on? What would happen if that parent somehow found out they later on have a half-Saiyan child? Don't you think it might have an effect on the future?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly at Bulma. He knew that Goten's mother was someone named Chi-Chi, but he had no idea who Trunks's mother was. It really was quite possible that Bulma knew or will know Trunks's mother someday. 

Eyeing him suspiciously, Bulma tried to figure out if he was being completely honest about this, or if he was really trying to just throw her off the trail. In the end, though, what he said made too much sense to be ignored. "I guess you're right," she sighed. "Though I still don't quite see how much harm it would be just knowing what race the other parent is. It's not like knowing their race will tell me who the parents are." 

Bardock shrugged uncomfortably. She _did_ have a point, but he really would rather not even go into the subject of who the parents were. Better to be safe than sorry, after all. Especially considering that he didn't think Vegeta knew what race his future mate was. Bardock had a fairly good idea that it was human, since Trunks was obviously raised on Earth, but since he couldn't be sure, it was best that he just keep his mouth shut for now. 

~*~ 

Special thanks to Mintly, ChibiCasey, Amie-chan, and Frozenflower for helping me get back writer's block on this fic! And anyone else who may have helped, but whom I can't remember right now. ^_^ It's 11 pm as I type this, and my brain isn't thinking too clearly. 

Eeeeesh... when I first laid out an outline for this chapter, I had a LOT more planned! As it is, I didn't even get through half the events I thought I would cover before I realized it was getting too long. Besides, if I wrote in all the other events, it would take me even longer to post, and none of you want that, now do you? *grins* 

I know it seems like I'm neglecting certain main characters, but it's really hard for me to concentrate on more than one or two main characters at a time, so I alternate between them. Yes, Bardock, Goten, and Trunks are still the main characters, with Goku, Bulma, Vegeta, and Radditz as pretty major secondary characters, but the fact that I have seven big characters means that I have to spend some time with each and every one of them. *sighs* So I'm not purposefully neglecting any given character (unless it's a tertiary character). Rest assured that I _will_ get back to the other characters. ^_^ 

Please review! *gives the readers a Son Puppy Eyes (TM) look* 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Vagabond" by Lady Nika, story id 463637, is a Mirai Trunks/Mirai Pan fiction of great quality! You've all read those T/P stories where Pan is a waif and gets taken in by Trunks, then they fall in love, right? Well, this one is the other way around! Trunks is homeless and Pan is the rich girl. When they meet, do they hit it off? Or what? It's truly an original and plausible story and the author is a really good writer! I definitely recommend it. ^_^ 


	34. Revelations

As this story gets more and more complex, I find that it's harder and harder to put out a chapter a day like I used to. Sorry, but I think I'm gonna have to start taking longer to write chapters. Maybe once every two days. Or maybe three. I really can't guess. Hope you all understand. ^_^ 

oneblackvoice- *quirks an eyebrow in amusement* I had actually already planned on having some Radditz and Goku quality time, but I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Having seven major characters makes it a bit difficult to get to all of the character interaction I have planned very quickly. Plus, I still have lots of time to do those scenes and don't want to rush them. *grins* After all, I still have the whole dragonball hunt to go! Still... thanks for the insightful review! ^_^ 

Disclaimer: Sardines in the fruity soils of May. Stairs of birds are mooing across the jumping stars. Make any sense? No? Well, it makes about as much sense as saying I own DBZ (which I don't). ^_^ 

(A/N: Boy, I'm getting desperate for original/creative disclaimers... *sweatdrops*) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Revelations) 

Outside and a fair distance away from the island where the others were, Goten and Trunks floated above the ocean facing each other, both in Super Saiya-jin form and panting slightly. The grinned in unison and dropped out of their defensive stances, wiping sweat from their brows as they glanced at the slowly rising sun. 

"Trunks, I'm hungry!" Goten complained, clutching his stomach as it growled loudly. His wide, innocent blue-green eyes locked onto Trunks's matching orbs in a pleading look. "D'you think maybe breakfast is ready?" 

"Only one way to find out!" Trunks grinned, rubbing his own empty belly in anticipation of another wonderful meal cooked by Lunch. "Race you back to the house, Goten!" He powered up and sped off towards the dark speck on the horizon that was the Turtle island. 

"Hey! No fair! That's cheating!" the younger demi-saiyan protested. In a flash, he charged up and flew after his friend as fast as he could. "I'm gonna beat you, Trunks!" 

"In your dreams, Goten!" 

The two boys raced back to Kame house, Trunks in the lead, with Goten trailing not far behind. For the two Super Saiyan chibis, it was only a matter of seconds before they reached the island, barely touching their feet onto the ground before they took off at a dead run for the house. Fortunately for the building, the door was still open and it was unnecessary for either boy to open it. Given that they were still powered up, the door probably would have been torn off its hinges by one of the two hyperactive boys. 

"I won! I won! I won!" Trunks laughed, dashing into the kitchen where everyone else was waiting impatiently. 

"No fair! You had a head start!" Goten pouted angrily, folding his arms and giving his friend a look that said that he thought he should have won. The blond nine year old shrugged and grinned. 

"Hey, come on, it's not like it's the end of the world or anything." Trunks reached out and tugged his friend's tail playfully, not enough to hurt, but just enough to show his friendship. "Besides, now we're here and we can have breakfast!" 

Goten immediately brightened up and he cheered, "Yay!! Breakfast! I'm _starving_!!" 

"If you're so hungry, then why the hell did it take you so long to get here?" Vegeta snarled bad temperedly. Once again he was being shown physical proof in the form of the two Super Saiyan chibis that he had been surpassed _twice_, even if they were both from the future. On top of that, he was hungry as well, and being made to wait had done nothing to improve his less than pleasant demeanor. 

"I guess we got distracted," Goten explained sheepishly, placing one hand behind his head in the hereditary Son family gesture as he grinned. "Gomen nasai!" 

"Whoa, hold on a sec," Bulma interrupted, her hands on her hips as she leveled her best glare at the two blond boys. "Who are you two, and why didn't anyone tell me about two more Saiyans?" They were obviously Saiyans because they both had tails like Saiya-jin have, and they looked familiar. Especially the smaller one when he had grinned in that goofy sort of way. 

"What's she talking about, Trunks? What two Saiyans?" Goten looked at his friend in a puzzled manner, then glanced around the room in hopes of spotting the mysterious two extra Saiyans. 

Trunks mirrored his friend as he, too, searched the kitchen for signs of any other Saiyans, until he happened to look at Goten again. "Oh! I get it! Goten, power down, you dummy! You're still in Super!" 

Scowling at his friend, Goten dropped out of Super Saiyan mode, his golden hair shifting back to its normal black, and shot back, "Hey, if I'm a dummy, then you are too, 'cause you're also in Super!" The nine year old boy flushed slightly in embarrassment as he realized that the younger chibi was right. He quickly reverted to his normal mode, yellow spikes of hair suddenly becoming limp and purple, falling back to their original bowl cut. 

Eyes wide as saucers, Bulma could only gape for a minute as the two boys transformed from complete strangers into the two sweet little kids she had met earlier that day. Beside her, Yamcha was equally surprised, while Master Roshi and Krillen only looked slightly startled. They had, after all, already witnessed Trunks turning into a Super Saiyan. Lunch couldn't care less as she just smiled sweetly and set a large pot of rice on the table along with the rest of the food she'd already prepared. 

"Well, since we're all here, you can all start eating now!" she said brightly as she headed back to the kitchen to tend to the other things she was cooking. One tableful of food was _not_ going to be enough to feed six hungry Saiyans and five humans, no matter how high the food was piled. 

"FOOD!!!" Goku, Goten, and Trunks cried out in simultaneous crows of delight as they literally attacked the food on the table. Not far behind them, though slightly more restrained in their decimation of the miniature mountain, Bardock, Radditz, and Vegeta joined in, making a total of six people-shaped vacuum cleaners that seemed to inhale food faster than the humans could inhale air. Beads of sweat rolled down the back the heads of everyone present as they watched the living black holes exert their powers over the food. 

"Good... Kami... and I thought _Goku_ was bad," Bulma muttered, the incident with the color changing hair already forgotten. Watching Bardock and Radditz eat made her realize that Goku's appetite was relatively _small_, if such a word could be used to describe the amount of food Goku could put away in just a few minutes, compared to an adult Saiyan's appetite. She was glad that she and Yamcha had already eaten breakfast, because she did _not_ want to try to compete with those six for food. Instead, she settled for watching Radditz as he ate, noting how he seemed to be moving rather gingerly because of his wounds. Figuring this was the perfect opportunity for her to try to get closer to the teenager, she sat down next to Radditz and scooched a little closer to him. If he had been human, she would have offered to help feed him so he wouldn't have to move around as much, but she didn't think she could keep up with that appetite! 

"How did you get your hair back to normal, dad?" Radditz mumbled through a mouthful of food, raising an eyebrow as he examined Bardock's once-again black hair. Bardock was about to answer, but Bulma cut him off, seeing this as a great way to catch Radditz's attention. 

"I brought some hair dye over," she told him proudly, idly dropping a hand to rest on his thigh. Maybe if she dropped enough hints, he'd get the idea that she liked him. Radditz frowned warily at her and scooted away from her so her hand was no longer on his thigh. In response, she only edged closer to him than before. "Brown and black." Her eyes once again drifted over his bandaged injuries and she flipped her hair over her shoulder flirtatiously, smiling at the older boy. "Since you're probably in a lot of pain, maybe I could wash your hair for you," she suggested in the most seductive voice she could manage. She was surprised when Radditz suddenly started choking on his food, bits and pieces flying from his mouth as he tried to cough some rice out of his food. "Y'know, you should be more careful eating," she scolded, slapping him on the back a few times, both to help him clear his air way and as an excuse to put her hands on him again. 

Jumping like a spooked rabbit, Radditz leapt away from the table, sweating nervously. "I'm fine!" he half-shouted. "It's just that..." He trailed off, eyes darting for a good excuse to flee the house. His gaze settled on the small form of his brother, who was still tackling the food as though he would never see a meal like it again, and he hastily plucked the boy away from the table. "Kakarot and I need to talk!" he blurted out in a rush, practically running out of the room. 

"Hey! I wasn't done eating yet," Goku protested with a look of confusion and longing on his face as he took one last look at the table of food before he lost sight of it. "And what's a kakarot? You and 'tousan have both mentioned it now and I still don't know what it is!" 

"Sorry, kid, but I needed to get away from your friend," Radditz explained, slightly sheepish, once they were out of hearing range of the others. "Besides which, you and I haven't really had a chance to talk yet. We can eat later. I'm sure that Lunch will have plenty more food when we get back." 

"Oh. Okay. But you didn't answer my question, niichan," Goku said. "What's a kakarot?" 

Blinking down at the boy he held in his arms, Radditz recalled that his father had been referring to his brother as Goku. "Kakarot is the name you were given as a baby." 

Goku appeared to think this over for a moment, then asked in a confused voice, "So I have three names? Son Goku Kakarot?" 

"Yeah, I guess so, kid," Radditz chuckled. "Which name do you like best?" 

"Goku," the seven year old said adamantly as though there was never any question about it. "That's the name my grandpa Gohan gave me, and he's the one who raised me." 

A hint of sadness crept into Radditz's heart at this, hearing his little brother reject, even in so small a way, his Saiyan heritage. He shook his head to clear away the emotion and headed for the front door of the house. 

"So... what did you wanna talk about?" Goku squirmed a little in his brother's arms as though he would prefer to walk under his own power. Fortunately for him, Radditz noticed this and set the boy down. A few moments of silence passed as the two walked outside together. 

"Uhh... I don't really know," the older boy admitted with chagrin. "Maybe we could spar a little, see how strong you are compared to your oniichan?" He cast a curious look at the miniature version of his father. He really didn't quite know what to make of the kid. He was too innocent and trusting, traits he'd apparently picked up from hitting his head too hard as a child and then being raised by the soft Chikyuu-jin. However, he _was_ his brother, which counted for something, and he was still Saiya-jin, even if he didn't act like it. Beyond that, he didn't really know enough about his sibling to really be able to judge him. 

At the mention of fighting, Goku visibly perked up and he grinned eagerly. "Sure! I'd love to spar with you!" At that moment, Radditz thought that his brother was acting more Saiya-jin than he had during the entire two days he had observed the kid. Then he blew the whole image by allowing a concerned look cross his face. "But... aren't you hurt?" he asked, pointing at the bandages that concealed the injuries he'd received during his spar with Prince Vegeta. 

"It's not as bad as it looks," Radditz shrugged it off casually. "Saiya-jin tend to heal pretty quickly, and Vegeta-ouji took it fairly easy on me." Not wanting to look bad in front of his little brother, he conveniently forgot to mention that 'taking it easy' on Radditz, for Vegeta, had still done more damage to him than he cared to admit. Besides, the boy couldn't be much of a match for him at his age, even as injured as the teen was. "I can probably handle anything you can throw at me," he boasted cockily. 

In response to the clear challenge in Radditz's voice, the seven year old smirked and crouched down in a defensive position that Radditz didn't recognize but, for all that it was unfamiliar, was quite flawless, once again revealing his Saiyan heritage. The teenager grinned and got into his own stance, thinking to himself about how this was _much_ more preferable than sitting inside that house trying to avoid that ningen female's advances. "Begin," he stated simply. 

~*~ 

Watching his son flee in something as close to panic as he'd ever seen the boy, Bardock's eyes sparkled with concealed amusement. He knew exactly what his oldest son had been running from... or, to be more specific, _who_ he had been running from. As he watched the human girl's expression shift to disappointment at Radditz's disappearance, it was all he could do to keep himself from chuckling at the situation. It was rather enjoyable to see his son squirm like that. 

Bardock wasn't the only one to notice Bulma's attraction to the teenage Saiyan. Vegeta had no such qualms about hiding his laughter and promptly burst out laughing when he realized what was going on between Bulma and Radditz. For several moments all he could do was clutch his sides and laugh derisively, completely ignoring the food in front of him. 

"You... You're in _love_ with him!" he gasped out between bursts of laughter. "I don't believe it! The weakling onna has a crush on a Saiyan warrior! This is too rich!" He broke off into another fit of mocking laughter, wiping tears from his eyes with one hand. 

Shame and humiliation burned in her cheeks as Bulma could do nothing but sit there and stare at the table. She couldn't even deny it, because it was true, damn it! It wasn't the fact that it was true that irked her so much as it was the fact that if she opened her mouth to say anything, the only thing she _could_ say would be an admission of that bakayaro being _right_! She would _die_ before she did that! 

"What? The baka onna has nothing to say?" Vegeta smirked broadly. "Brain too slow to think up a good lie?" 

This was too much. She'd just been humiliated, had her newfound feelings discovered and ridiculed, and now this... this... _boy_ dared to insult her intelligence! Blinking back hot, salty tears, she rounded on the child prince, clenching her fists tightly as the desire to punch him in the face warred with the knowledge that such an action would do her no good. "I'll have you know that I'm one of the most intelligent people on this planet!" she shouted angrily. "My father and I _invented_ those capsules you've been using to store things in, you know!" 

"I don't care what great things you think you've done, onna," Vegeta remarked lazily, leaning back in his chair. "You're still a baka chibi onna." 

_My father and I invented those capsules..._ The words rang inside Bardock's mind, echoing back and forth and shoving all other thoughts out of his head. _My father and I... my father and I... invented those capsules... _Somewhere in the back of his mind, a memory stirred and another voice spoke in his mind, speaking words that were eerily similar to the ones that Bulma had just said. 

_*These are Hoi Poi Capsules. My mom and grandpa make them.*_

Trunks had spoken those words back on Vegeta-sei, what seemed like months ago, but was in reality only a week or two. Trunks. Vegeta's son. _My mom and my grandpa make them.... My father and I invented those capsules..._ It finally clicked inside Bardock's brain and he could only stare in fascinated horror at the fiery tempered girl and the equally hotheaded prince who were currently trading insults back and forth faster than any barracks soldier... and more colorful ones at that! 

_Masaka!_ Bardock's stunned mind could barely comprehend the revelation he'd just received. _BULMA and VEGETA?! No way!!!___

~*~ 

Hahahahah!! I haven't had a nice cliff hanger in a while! I must be getting soft or something. ^_^ 

AGAIN! Once _again_ I had more planned on happening in this chapter than I actually wrote. Can you believe that the events that happened in the last chapter, this chapter, and the ones that I plan on having in the next chapter were all supposed to originally be just _one_ chapter??? If it seems like the story is moving a little slow, that's why! Something that was supposed to be one, single, action filled chapter turned out into three, long, somewhat uneventful chapters! Gah! 

In fact, this whole story is dragging out a lot longer than I had originally intended. Oh well, I don't think any of you are really complaining. 

I had a hard time characterizing Radditz in this chapter. *scratches her head* Probably because I'm really just guessing as to what his whole character as a teenager is supposed to be in the first place. 

Anyway, let me know what you think. ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Life Is Strange" by TW, story id 615931, is another Gohan and Videl get together fic. It picks up where the episode "Rescue Videl" left off, but tosses out most of the original plot thereafter. It's a creative and amusing take on how Gohan and Videl might have gotten together in another universe. Go read it and enjoy. ^_^ 


	35. 700 Review Special

Ossu! Once again, I finally got motivated enough to do a Review Special. SEVEN HUNDRED? Good Kami, I never thought the story would be _this _popular! Eeesh... Anyway, I'm going to do this a little differently than the 200 Review Special. A lot of people have been asking me (through AIM, e-mail, and reviews) "What the heck is going on in the present?!" You want to know about Present (or Mirai, whatever) Goku, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Vegeta, Gohan, etc.? Well, that's what this Review Special will be! A peek into the goings-on of the people in the Present (Future?) time line. Nothing big, 'cause there really isn't that much going on in their lives right now. 

Anyway, hope you enjoy the 700 Review Special! 

Disclaimer: Why are humans so fascinated by their own reflections? I believe that it is because you are the only person you can't see. Not with your own eyes, anyway. How much information about a person do you receive by what you see when you look at them, at their faces, and observe their expressions? Unable to gain this information about yourself in the same way, you must rely on what you see in the mirror to gain those insights that are so easily obtained about others but impossible to discover about yourself otherwise. Just as the eyes are the windows of the soul in another person, the mirror is like the window to your own soul, and so you can't help but gaze in wonder and fascination at your own reflected image. 

Wow. That's deep. Or at least a lot deeper than I usually allow my thoughts to run. ^_^ Anyway, I couldn't think of a witty disclaimer, so I just decided to give you one of my (yes, it IS mine) deeper thoughts. I own the philosophical musings, not DBZ. 

(A/N: For you dubbies out there, Shouken Idou is Goku's Instant Transmission.) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(700 Review Special) 

***Part One: Present Tense*** 

(A/N: The first half of this Review Special is a normal, albeit short, chapter and everything that happens in it will actually apply to the story.) 

(_Time: One week after Trunks ran away. He has just barely wished himself into the past._) 

Sitting in the living room of Capsule Corporation were Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Bulma, and Vegeta, all wearing faces revealing various levels of anxiety, worry, and grief. Vegeta tried to hide his emotions, but it one knew what to look for, it was evident that the loss of his son had hit him just as hard as the others. A heavy silence filled the air, nearly suffocating in its intensity. 

Finally... "So... Trunks took the space ship and a large amount of food with him," Gohan stated for what was probably the hundredth time since they had discovered the demi-saiyan's absence only a few days before. They had actually noticed he was gone when Bulma and Vegeta had woken up the morning after Goku had gone to Hell to look for Goten, but at the time it hadn't seemed like a big deal. They'd figure that he had probably gone off to mope somewhere about not being allowed to go to Hell with Goku. Trunks was a big boy, he could take care of himself. It wasn't until Bulma had happened to find that the space ship was missing, which had happened the second day of Trunks's absence, that they'd managed to figure out that he had run away. "He probably went to New Namek to collect the dragonballs there." 

Vegeta snarled. "If you don't quit stating the obvious, brat, I'll-" 

"Calm down, Vegeta," Bulma snapped at her husband. "Threatening Gohan isn't going to get us anywhere." The Saiya-jin no Ouji glared at his mate but closed his mouth anyway, opting to stare sullenly off into space. "Anyway, Goku, I know you said that Trunks is suppressing his ki so you can't get a lock on him and bring him back home with your Shouken Idou, but maybe you could just go to New Namek and wait for him to get there. If my calculations are correct, that ship's modifications should make it fast enough to get there by tomorrow afternoon, our time." 

His face visibly brightening, Goku leapt to his feet. "Hey, that's a great idea, Bulma! In fact, why don't I go there right now and get a head start on gathering the dragonballs?" He grinned in that goofy way that only he and his family could manage. "Do you have a Dragon Radar I could borrow?" 

"Sorry, Son-kun, I don't," Bulma grumbled, scowling darkly. "I only had the two radars to begin with. Goten had the original, and Trunks took off with the spare. I could probably rig up another one, but it'll take a couple of hours." She stood up abruptly and stalked off towards her lab, eager to do something to get her mind off the situation and possibly be of some use for a change. 

Two hours later, the blue haired genius emerged from her work room with a triumphant smirk on her face. "When I first made the Dragon Radar, it took me days just to put it together correctly, not even counting the time it took to make the plans! But, being the brilliant, beautiful genius that I am, it only took me two hours to build a new one from scratch!" She flipped her hair over her shoulder and laughed cockily, then handed the radar over to Goku. "Now go get those dragonballs, Son Goku!" 

Smiling cheerfully, Goku raised two fingers to his forehead and vanished in the blink of an eye. 

Figuring that it would take at least a day before her husband would return, Chi-Chi and Gohan started saying their good byes to Bulma, Vegeta, and Dr. Briefs, who had walked in soon after Goku teleported off the planet. Just as the two remaining members of the Son family were about to leave the building, however... 

"Er... guys?" Goku said nervously, flickering back into existence with an anxious look on his face. "There's, umm, kinda a problem." 

"Well, are you just going to beat around the bush all day, or are you going to tell us?" Chi-Chi asked impatiently, waving her arms in annoyance. 

"Well, it's about Trunks." The spiky haired warrior scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "When I got there, the Nameks said that Trunks had already been there and used the dragonballs to wish himself into the past to find Goten. They'd also already used the other two wishes, so the Namek dragonballs are dormant for another Namekian year." 

"What?!" Bulma screeched. "But that's not possible! There's no way that ship could be fast enough to have already gotten there!" 

"Oh, you mean that old space ship we had sitting in the back yard?" Dr. Briefs asked curiously. "I've been meaning to tell you, dear. I made some rather interesting modifications to that thing a while back, so it's probably a little faster than it was before. Plus there's a karaoke machine, a dish washer, an automatic manicure machine, a new..." He continued on in this vein for a few more minutes, describing all the modifications he'd made to the ship, most of them fairly useless. 

"Great," Gohan muttered sarcastically. "So Goten and Trunks are who-knows-where and who-knows-when, _without_ a time machine, and we can't use the dragonballs to bring them back until one of the sets has had a chance to regenerate. What are we going to do now?" 

Silence reigned as everyone, excluding the babbling Dr. Briefs, tried to think of a way to rescue Goten and Trunks. 

***Part Two: Things Get Weird*** 

(A/N: Everything up until this point actually happens in the story. However, from this point on, nothing applies to the story line. As the title of this part says, things get weird. None of this actually happens in the story and the characters are purposefully OOS (Out Of Story, kinda like out of character), so don't flame me for it!) 

Bulma suddenly crowed triumphantly. "Bulma, you are a genius! Why didn't I think of this before? I know exactly how we can get Trunks and Goten back here!" She twirled around excitedly and even went so far as to grab a startled Vegeta in a big hug. Less than pleased with his mate's behavior, the short prince growled and tried to dislodge himself from the puny female's grip. Not that it mattered, because as soon as he started to struggle, she let go of him and grinned broadly at the three Sons. 

"So, how do we get them back?" Goku chirped, literally dancing from one foot to the other. 

"Weeeell," Bulma drawled, narrowing her eyes dangerously as she continued to smile. "Who's responsible for this whole mess in the first place?" 

"That's easy," Vegeta snorted. "It's that pathetic Kakarot's fault. One, because if he didn't exist, none of this would ever have happened. Two, he's responsible for the existence of his second brat, who dragged my son into this mess." 

"Oh be quiet, Vegeta," the petite scientist snapped in annoyance. "Besides, I'm talking about someone else." 

"Goten?" Gohan ventured tentatively. After all, Goten was the one who made the wish. 

"No." 

"The Eternal Dragon?" If not for the Eternal Dragon misinterpreting the wish in the first place, Goten would never have ended up in the past. 

"No." 

"Dende?" Dende's sense of humor tended to rub off on his creation, making it so you had to be extra careful in making your wishes if you didn't want... unpleasant... results. 

"No." 

"Awww, c'mon, Bulma, tell us!" Goku pleaded, giving her his best patented Son Puppy Eyes. 

"It was..." Pausing dramatically, Bulma let her gaze shift to each person in the room, locking eyes with them momentarily before moving on. "Brenda!" 

"Huh? Who's Brenda?" Chi-Chi asked, confusion plainly evident in her voice. 

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Don't you remember that red haired girl from the party? She's the _author_ of this story! If we can just get hold of her, we can get her to undo this whole mess and bring our kids back!" 

"That would be a fairly decent idea, onna, except for one little detail," Vegeta cut in rudely, folding his arms in an intimidating manner. "You forgot that the blasted onna doesn't even live in this dimension! Just how are we supposed to get our hands on her in the first place?!" 

"Just leave _that_ to me," Bulma cackled, heading once more for her lab. Having nothing better to do and since they were curious to see what she had planned, Goku, Gohan, Chi-Chi, and Vegeta all followed her. 

~*~ 

Whistling a cheerful tune, Brenda sauntered down the street, happily twirling her Magic Author Pen between her fingers. The wind blew through her long, red-brown hair, causing it to trail behind her like a banner. Dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt, she fit in with the crowd of people that streamed past her in both directions. It was a beautiful sunny day, the perfect kind for going to the park. Which just happened to be where the author was heading. She had just left her readers with a rather evil cliff hanger, although it wasn't the worst she'd done to them, and so she was feeling pretty good. 

Suddenly, a smoky gray portal flashed into existence right in front of her and began pulling the teenager into its opaque depths. With a startled yelp, she backpedaled with all her might, but it was in vain. The portal dragged her inexorably forward despite everything she did. In desperation, she even grabbed hold of one of the people passing by in hopes that the other girl could pull her out. The brown haired girl looked startled, then panicked as, instead of being able to rescue Brenda, she only got pulled into the dimensional tunnel along with her! 

"WAAAHH!!!" they screamed in unison as everything went gray for several long, terrifying seconds. When the swirling gray cloud vanished, the two girls found themselves in an unfamiliar place, no longer outside, but in a room filled with lots of high tech equipment in it. 

Before she had a chance to recover from the shock of suddenly being yanked out of her dimension, Brenda found herself being picked up by the front of her shirt and slammed into a wall hard enough to cause her to see stars. Blinking rapidly, she had just enough time to focus on her attacker before he growled in a menacing tone, "What did you do with my son, brat?!" 

"Wha-? Huh?" Brenda finally managed to get a clear view of the man holding her against the wall. He looked eerily familiar, as though she'd met him somewhere. _Wait a minute, I _have _met him! At that 200 Review Special party!_ "Nani? Vegeta?!" 

"Nani?! Vegeta?!? Where!?!" The girl who had unwillingly accompanied the author jerked her head up and looked around the room. Spotting Vegeta, she gave a cry of delight. "AAAHH! Veggie-chan!!" 

Vegeta winced as the girl's piercing voice penetrated his sensitive Saiyan ears. "Onna! Do you have to yell so loudly?! And don't call me Veggie-chan!!!" 

"Oh, all right," the girl conceded happily. "How 'bout 'Geta, then?" 

The proud Saiyan prince's eye began to twitch and he shouted, "NO!!" 

Pouting cutely, the girl gave Vegeta her best imitation of the famous Son Puppy Eyes (TM) and said, "Awww.... C'mon! I've waited a good portion of my life to meet you, so I think I should get to call you a few pet names. Pleeeeease, Veggie-poo?" Glancing around the lab curiously, she added, "Oh, and, what are we doing here anyway?" 

Before Vegeta could respond angrily, Bulma stepped between the girl and her husband. "Sorry about that, but I don't think you were supposed to come in the first place. We only wanted Brenda, you see," she said, pointing at the girl that Vegeta was still holding against the wall. "Speaking of which... Vegeta, put her down!" The stocky warrior complied, growling low in his throat, only when Bulma added a death glare and a softly muttered threat about a couch and a GR room. "I'm Bulma Briefs, and this is my husband, Vegeta. That's Son Goku and his wife, Son Chi-Chi, and their son, Son Gohan. We already know Brenda, but who are you?" 

The girl's eyes widened as far as they would go and she jumped up to her feet, literally glowing with excitement. "WOW!!!!! YEAH! I know who you all are!! This soooooo sooo sooooooo unbelievably, totally, completely, utterly, truly, fantastically AWESOME!..... Oh, hi Brenda. I'm ChibiCasey, by the way. I'm a great fan... of everyone in this room!!!" 

"But wait a second, Bulma! Didn't you say you calibrated that machine to make it so that only Brenda could fall through?" Gohan piped up, looking confused. 

"Well, that's not quite true, Gohan. Because of a complication in the circuitry that would take too long to explain, only one other person could have fallen through the Dimensional Tunnel. And that someone is the 700th reviewer for Brenda's story, Wish For The Past. I guess that means that ChibiCasey is that person and just happened to be near enough to the Dimensional Tunnel to fall in it." Picking up a little gray box, she smiled at the brown haired girl. "Well, it's only a matter of pressing this little button here and I can send you back to your own dimension. Sorry about the trouble!" 

"Hold on one second Bulma..." ChibiCasey said, pausing to take in a huge breath. Once she got a lungful, she screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Don't send me baaaaaaaaack! Not yet! There's way too much for me to do! At least let me see a Dragon Ball before I go!" 

"Sorry, kid, but it really messes things up to have more than one person from another dimension here in this world. Gotta send you back!" The cerulean haired genius waved cheerfully and pressed the button on her little gray box, opening another portal to the Real World, which promptly sucked the 700th reviewer inside and vanished. "There, now, let's get back to what we originally intended to do!" 

Vegeta once again turned his patented death glare on Brenda. "Now, little onna, where is my son?!" 

"Eeep!" Brenda squeaked. 

"Hey, Vegeta, you don't have to be so mean," Goku protested. "I bet if we just ask her nicely, she'll give us back our children." 

"I am the Prince of all Saiyans! I do not _ask_!" 

"Umm..." Brenda stammered hesitantly. "Could you.... uhh.. put me down? Please?" 

"Not until you return Trunks to this time!" Vegeta snapped. "And Goten," he added as an afterthought, almost grudgingly. Probably because, even though he didn't like the boy, he would have to face his mate, Kakarot, Kakarot's baka mate, and Kakarot's other brat if he didn't include Goten in his demands. 

"For once, I agree with Vegeta," Chi-Chi chipped in, folding her arms in front of her chest. "You told me you'd bring my baby boy back! That was, what, ten? Twenty chapters ago? Well, where is he?!" 

Brenda squirmed uncomfortably. "Well, er... he's still in the past..." 

"We _know_ that already, baka onna!" Vegeta glowered harshly at the teenage author. "Now bring him back before I end your pathetic excuse for a life!" 

A look of annoyance crossed Brenda's features. "As much as I agree with you about the state of my life, there's not a darn thing I can do about Goten and Trunks right now! So lay off, will ya?!" 

"But, you're the author! You can do anything!" Goku chirped, pointing at Brenda's Magic Author Pen. "Hey! That's it! That's the key to your power! All we gotta do to get Goten and Trunks back is use that pen thingy!" With childlike innocence and wonder, Goku snatched the pen from Brenda's hand and pulled the cap off. "Now how does this thing work?" 

"Hey! Give that back!" Brenda protested. She would have lunged for it, except that she was still firmly pinned against the wall. She glared angrily at Vegeta. "Do you mind?! Lemme go, you beast!" Surprisingly enough, the Saiyan warrior smirked and complied, releasing his hold on the teenager's shirt and taking a few steps back. "Er... thanks." 

Meanwhile, Goku was waving the pen around as he'd seen Brenda do so often. "Okay, pen, I want Goten and Trunks back here," he ordered sternly. When nothing happened, he stared at the thing with puzzlement. "Please?" he added hopefully. After all, please _was_ a magic word. Unfortunately, it apparently wasn't the magic word needed for this pen. 

Stalking over to the younger Saiyan, Vegeta grabbed the pen away from him. "Give me that, baka. You're more likely to poke someone's eye out than actually figure out how to work it." He reached over and grabbed a piece of paper from Bulma's desk, then neatly wrote out '_And then Trunks and Goten returned to the Earth of their own timeline.'_ With a self-satisfied smirk, he capped the pen and waited for the magic to work. 

Nothing happened. 

"Umm... maybe I forgot to tell you this, but..." Brenda trailed off, grinning insanely. "The Magic Author Pen only works in my dimension, and that particular pen only works for me. Like I said, there's not a thing I can do about Goten and Trunks! Mwahahaha!!!" 

"Well, then, that means that you're powerless while you're here," Vegeta stated with a dangerous edge to his voice. 

"And if you harm me, Veggie-chan," Brenda shot back, regaining some of her confidence, "then I won't ever finish the story and the two boys will remain forever in the past! So there!" Smirking in a manner very similar to Vegeta's, she walked over and grabbed her pen from the astonished Prince. "And if you even _think_ about accompanying me back to my dimension and using your powers to make me do what you want, keep in mind that when we return to my dimension, I'll have all my mighty author powers back! HAHAHAHAHA!!!" 

"Damn it, there's nothing we can do!" Bulma seethed. 

"Yup!" Brenda agreed cheerfully. "Now, send me back to my own dimension so I can get back to work on the next chapter! You'll just have to wait until I get around to bringing the boys back on my own, just like everyone else." 

With a muttered string of curses, Bulma pressed the button on her gray box, forming another portal to Brenda's dimension. As Brenda stepped towards the swirling gray portal, Chi-Chi spat out a few last minute rants and demands that the teenager bring her baby back right away. Goku cheerfully waved goodbye to the nice young woman, and Gohan rubbed his forehead to ease the headache he was getting. Bulma and Vegeta just glared at the back of the quickly disappearing author. 

The portal vanished, and all was as it had been before. 

"Great. _Now_ what do we do?" Gohan muttered. 

~*~ 

ChibiCasey's lines were written by ChibiCasey herself. Not me. 

Remember, while the first half can be considered an actual chapter, the second half of the 700 Review Special has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the story. It's just something silly I wrote up in honor of getting 700 reviews! And speaking of those reviews... Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, for reading and supporting me in this story. I don't know how far I would have gotten without you guys/girls/whatevers giving me so much encouragement and advice. And, yes, I even thank you flamers who flamed me _intelligently_. Idiot flamers are a dime a dozen, but the flamer who writes a worthwhile, insightful flame/criticism is a rare creature indeed. Can't say I _like_ getting flames, but I _know_ I prefer intelligent flames over the moronic ones any day! 

If any of you have any opinions on how the Radditz and Goku sparring session should go, how Radditz feels towards his little brother, how Goku reacts, etc., please feel free to tell me! Same goes for how Bardock is going to react to the revelation he received last chapter! I have a vague idea where I'm going to take those two scenes, but I could always use a little inspiration. ^_^ 

So ends the 700 Review Special. Now I'll get back to work on the next chapter. Ja ne! ^_^ 


	36. Brotherly Bonding

For those of you who don't read Review Specials, I'd advise you to at least read Part One of the 700 Review Special. **_Part One: Present Tense is an actual chapter!_** It's short, but it IS a chapter (it takes you back to the Present/Future timeline.) 

Disclaimer: Mirai Trunks: *pops up* Hey, how come we haven't been in a disclaimer in a while? 

Brenda: *sweatdrops* Umm... because one of my reviewers told me I was vain and arrogant for having you guys vie for my attention. 

Teen Gohan: *grumbles* And that reviewer couldn't _tell_ that you're never truly serious with any of your disclaimers? What an idiot! 

Bardock: Well, except maybe that philosophical musings you did in the disclaimer for the 700 Review Special. That was some pretty serious stuff. 

Brenda: *sighs* Okay, I can tell my readers are all getting impatient with me to get on with the story, soo.... I don't own DBZ, nor do I own most of the characters in this story. I also do not own the characters I use in the disclaimers. Their actions are not supposed to be in character. They behave as they do solely for the purpose of my lame attempts at humor. I'm really not as arrogant or vain as I make myself out to be. That is, yet again, another lame attempt at humor on my part. Now that we have that in the open, I'll let you get on with the story. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Brotherly Bonding) 

For one long moment, neither of the boys did anything, both waiting to see if the other would make the first move. Finally, Goku launched a punch at his brother, testing the older boy's reflexes. Radditz grinned as he easily caught the blow, completely unaffected by the power behind it. Seeing that his brother hadn't been bluffing about his strength, Goku decided to put more force behind his attacks. He threw several more punches and kicks, this time holding nothing back. Again, the teenager was able to block or dodge the attacks with a minimum of effort. A broad grin of pure excitement crossed the seven year old's features at the realization that he was up against an opponent capable of taking everything he had to give. The only other time that had happened had been when he was fighting Jackie Chun at the Tenkaichi Budokai, which, though it was only a few days ago, seemed like ages for him. From the brief interchange they'd had so far, Goku guessed that Radditz might be even stronger than Jackie Chun, a thought that sent a thrill of excitement down the child's back. Goku _loved_ a good challenge! 

Radditz chuckled at the expression on his little brother's face, nimbly sidestepping a kick to his abdomen. He had yet to take the offensive in the spar yet, doing nothing but defending himself. "You're pretty good, kid," he laughed lightly. "Maybe even as good as I was when I was your age. But you're leaving yourself open here," he pushed aside Goku's fist and tagged the boy lightly on his chest, "and here," his other hand reached out tap the side of Goku's neck, "and here." His leg swept the child's feet out from under him and Goku fell to his back with a "whoof!" as the breath was knocked out of him. Giving his brother a lopsided smirk, Radditz took a step back and waited for the boy to get up. 

Sure enough, Goku leapt to his feet and crouched warily, eyeing his brother appraisingly. This time, however, there was a gleam of admiration in his eyes that hadn't been there before the start of their spar. Radditz grinned at this, taking it to mean that he had won the respect of his little brother. It felt good to have someone look up to him for a change, rather than always being the weakest member of the group. "Wow, you're really good!" Goku congratulated the older boy, giving his trademark grin. "Wanna see something neat?" 

Radditz smiled somewhat condescendingly and relaxed his stance a little. "Sure, Ka-er... Goku," he replied easily, inwardly wincing at calling his little brother by his Earth name. "What've you got?" _The boy's pretty good for his age, especially considering that he's been raised on this soft planet by weaklings like that Turtle guy. He's definitely Bardock's son, and my little brother, but I seriously doubt he has anything that could challenge me. I am, after all, eight years older than him, and have a lot more experience in battle._

"It's something Master Roshi taught me," Gokus said, puffing his chest slightly with pride. "It's called a kamehameha. Ka..." He brought the heels of his hands together. "Me..." The hands shifted to a position at his side, a faint blue light forming between them. "Ha..." Radditz watched with fascination as the blue light increased in size and intensity. "Me..." As an afterthought, the teenager tried the trick of extending his ki senses to see just how powerful this ki blast was. Still unused to using this technique, it took him a moment to reach his faltering senses out far enough to detect his brother's forming attack. "HA!!!" His eyes widened with surprise as the bolt of blue energy shot towards him faster than he expected. Caught by surprise, the beam slammed into his chest and knocked him back several feet until he lost his balance and fell backwards. 

As powerful as the blast was, though, it wasn't really all that strong compared to Radditz. After only a moment of laying in the dirt, he sat up dazedly and focused on the figure of his little brother. Goku was grinning broadly, holding two fingers up in a "Victory!" sign. Radditz rubbed his ribs, the soreness from his earlier spar compounded by a faint blistering where the kamehameha had hit him. While he was relatively unharmed, the bandages that had previously bound his wounds had been burned off. Not that Radditz cared right then. 

"I'm impressed!" he praised the boy, grinning broadly. "I wasn't expecting something that powerful from you! But..." He trailed off, his grin changing to a smirk of superiority. In a flash, he was off the ground and had zanzokened behind Goku, catching the boy in a headlock. "I'm still stronger than you, ototochan," he chuckled into the boy's ear. 

Surprise, anger, and determination flickered sequentially across Goku's face, settling on that last emotion as he reached his hands up to tug at the arm that encircled his neck. _It's no good. He's too strong! I can't escape!_ He started gasping when Radditz straightened up, thus making Goku dangle above the ground with only the headlock supporting him. Breathing became that much more difficult as Radditz tightened the pressure he was exerting on the boy's neck. _He's trying to suffocate me until I lose consciousness_, Goku noted with a hint of panic as stars began to swim before his eyes. 

"Give up," Radditz demanded flatly. 

Grimacing with the effort of squeezing words past the iron bands that were Radditz's arms, Goku spat out a harsh, "No!" He kicked his legs against the chest of his captor and was rewarded when the fifteen year old jerked in pain. _Guess I hit one of his bruises,_ Goku thought to himself. Noticing that the stranglehold had loosened somewhat, he tried once again to break free, wrapping his fingers firmly around his brother's wrist and yanking with all his might. Hope flickered inside him for just a moment when he managed to pull the constricting arm away for a brief second, allowing him to drag in a lungful of desperately needed oxygen, but his hope was dashed as quickly as it had formed when Radditz tightened the headlock once again. 

"There is nothing you can do, little brother, so why not give up? You can't win," Radditz stated, wrapping his tail around Goku's legs to prevent the child from kicking him again. 

"Won't... give.. up..." Goku grated out between clenched teeth. Dark spots were shifting in and out of his vision again, despite the air he had succeeded in gaining earlier. "Ne... ver..." 

The next thing Goku knew, the pressure around his neck was gone and he fell to the ground, gasping for air. Pushing himself up to his hands and knees, he coughed a few times and rubbed a hand across his sore throat. He turned his head to look at Radditz, confusion clearly written on his face. He was surprised to find that his brother had dropped completely out of his fighting stance and was smiling genuinely, a glimmer of pride in his eyes. "I knew you had it in you," he said. "You're a true Saiyan, Goku, even if you won't admit it. And you're my little brother." The older Saiya-jin reached a hand out to ruffle Goku's hair affectionately, the same way Bardock did, and he grinned. "You can go back and finish your breakfast now. I think I'll go take a shower and get this pink out of my hair and tail." _I didn't get a chance to finish my meal, either, but I am _not_ going to risk eating in the same room as that chibi onna!_ He shuddered slightly, then shoved the thought aside, standing up straight. 

Goku could only stare at his brother in awe for several long moments. It didn't matter that he had been beaten. Winning and losing had never meant much to him, only the thrill of the fight and being able to test his own limits against his opponent. _My oniichan is so strong! And he even took my kamehameha and hardly got a mark! _Radditz's words finally registered in his mind and he leapt to his feet, grinning broadly. "I'm _starving,_ niichan," he agreed, rubbing his belly sheepishly. "But that was really fun! I hope we can spar again soon." That said, he dashed back into the house, his mind on only one thing at the moment: finishing the meal that had been interrupted. 

Radditz smirked and chuckled to himself. "Yup. He's definitely Saiya-jin," he said out loud as he, too, headed for the door of the Kame house. "Appetite and all." 

~*~ 

Within the house, Bulma and Vegeta were finding themselves at something of an impasse. Surprisingly enough, they discovered that they were running out of insults ready at hand to fling at the each other. Roshi, Krillen, and Yamcha had long since left the room as a method of preserving their sanity and their ears. Some of the things that those two had said to each other were enough to make even the legendary old pervert blush! Goten and Trunks, used to the fights Bulma and Vegeta had in the future, ignored them and continued to clear the table of the food Lunch was still periodically placing on it. No one seemed to notice that Bardock had stopped eating and was still staring in shock at the two shrieking land mines. 

"Chibi onna, chibi onna, chibi onna!!" Vegeta chanted childishly, having already used his more intelligent insults at least once, if not twice, each. Now he was left with only the most basic of attacks: repetition of an insult known to aggravate the opponent. "CHIBI ONNA!" 

_Bulma and Vegeta? Those two get together in the future? Long enough to have a kid?_ These same thoughts had been running around in his head ever since he had first realized who Trunks's parents were. He hadn't been paying much attention to what the two had been saying, besides noting the fact that he was glad Goku wasn't here to have his innocence destroyed. He would worry about Trunks and Goten themselves, but they seemed used to it. _Bulma and Vegeta? Those two look like they'd rather tear each other's throat out than even say one civil word, let alone share a bed!_

"I am _not _a chibi!" Bulma screeched, clenching and unclenching her fists. Bardock blinked and managed to bring himself out of his daze, focusing once more on what was being said. Bulma's face had turned a lovely shade of red, from anger or embarrassment he couldn't tell. "Vegeta, I swear, if you don't shut up, I'm going to rip off your-" 

"Dragonballs!" Bardock yelped, eyes wide. He might not be the target of the girl's ire, but he had no desire to hear whatever graphic threats she had planned, nor did he want to expose the other two chibis present to that kind of violence. He had no clue if they were used to threats on the order of what he guessed Bulma had been about to use, and he didn't feel like finding out. Startled by his outburst, the prince and the scientist turned and looked at him questioningly. "Er... I was just thinking that we need to start looking for the dragonballs. So Goten and Trunks can get back home to their own time." 

"A dragonball hunt, huh?" Bulma mused, her anger with the Saiyan prince already pushed to the back of her mind, all but forgotten. "Well, if you're going on a dragonball hunt, I'm going with you!" 

Just as she said these words, Goku came running into the kitchen, looking a little worse for the wear, and launched himself at the food. A few steps behind him, Radditz stopped dead in his tracks, the shower completely forgotten. "_What?!?!_" he shouted, an edge of panic shading his voice. 

Bulma's head snapped around when she heard Radditz and instantly started blushing. "Well, umm... it just makes sense for me to go with you guys! I've been on a dragonball hunt before, and since I'm the one who made the Dragon Radar, you'd need me if anything were to happen to it. Besides, none of _you_ know anything about Earth, except Goku, and he doesn't really count." A thoughtful look on his face, Bardock nodded in silent agreement with Bulma's reasoning. 

"Hey, me and Trunks grew up on Earth!" Goten protested, pausing in his eating. 

"You mean you grew up on the Earth who knows how many years in the future," the blue haired girl pointed out , folding her arms smugly. "You might know what things are like on Earth in _your_ time, but this is a different time than you're used to. Face it. You need me!" _And this way I can be with Radditz some more! Maybe I can figure out how to get his attention. I tried being obvious, like they show on TV and in romance books, and that didn't work... Maybe I need to tone it down a bit? Or maybe he's just shy? _Thinking back to how Radditz had fled the house when she had offered to wash his hair, she decided it had to be the latter of the two. After all, one of her books had said somewhere that a woman could never be too forward when trying to get a man's attention! She suppressed a giggle. _It's so cute that he's shy around women!_

Radditz looked like he was about to say something more against Bulma joining in the hunt, but Bardock spoke up first. "She has a point," he said out loud to everyone and no one in particular. "None of us really know Earth well enough to be able to handle every situation that might come up. And if something were to go wrong with the radar, it would be useful to have her around." Nodding once sharply, he caught Bulma's eyes with his own. "We would appreciate your company," he said gravely, ignoring the pleading looks on his oldest son's face. _Sorry, Radditz, but if we _do_ need her help, it would be better if she's actually there with us._

A look of utter despair washed over Radditz's features, his shoulders slumping in defeat. _Kami, why me?_ he silently asked. _What did I do to deserve this? Now I'm going to be stuck with her for who _knows_ how long! Why? Why me?_ Feeling that he needed some way to relieve a little of his stress, and since he still needed to remove the pink from his hair and fur, Radditz trudged off towards the bathroom to take what he hoped would be a relaxing, hot shower. _I just hope she doesn't try to spy on me,_ he thought pessimistically. The way she'd been acting around him, he wouldn't put it past her. 

Watching the retreating form of the boy she had developed feelings for, Bulma had a sudden, gleeful thought. _His bandages... they're gone! That means he'll need me to put new bandages on!_ She grinned broadly, not at all dismayed that her earlier work on dressing the teen's wounds had gone to waste. 

~*~ 

What's this? Brenda finally got around to starting the dragonball hunt? Heh, took me long enough, didn't it? *smiles wryly* Well, it hasn't technically started yet, but it will soon! 

Just some notes on Bulma's character. Even though she's eleven years old, I have no clue how to portray an eleven year old with a crush. So instead I've based her character on Bulma's 16 year old personality, giving the excuse that she reads a lot of romance novels and so has ideas that aren't quite appropriate for her age level. Hope no one minds too much. 

I have very little to say this chapter. Maybe it's because I'm trying to think up author notes at 11:45 pm... maybe it's because I just have nothing to say. Oh well. 

Please review! 


	37. The Hunt Begins

Usually I don't give spoilers, but I'm going to make an exception in this case. Radditz and Bulma are _not_ meant to be! So no more worries about those two, okay? *grins* 

Translation notes: I am under the impression that "onna" can mean either "woman" or "female." I know that its most common translation is "woman," but for the translation of the phrase "chibi onna," I'm taking it to mean "little female." Someone brought this to my attention (you know who you are) so I thought I should clarify this for everyone. 

Actually, Baka-sama, my tardiness last time was _not_ due to writer's block. It was due to the fact that I slept most of the day away because of a severe bout of sleep deprivation the night before. Same results, though. 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ! And, no, I'm not just 'yanking your tail.' *King Kai snicker* Get it? Yanking your tail? Get it? Huh? 

Bardock: *groans and covers his ears* That has _got_ to be one of the _worst_ attempts at a pun I have ever heard! 

Brenda: *grins* And so it sounds _exactly_ like Kaio-sama, ne? 

Bardock: Hai. Unfortunately. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(The Hunt Begins) 

High above the ground a large fortress floated, armed to the teeth with gun turrets, cannons, and bomb bays. A small helicopter zipped in towards this formidable monstrosity, unconcerned by the apparent danger it was in. In reality, there was no danger to the air craft or its two occupants, for the owner of the flying fortress knew them and welcomed them with open arms. The helicopter swerved and dipped until it was level with an opening in the side of the fortress then darted inside to make a gentle landing on the floor of the launch pad. The two blades on top of the vehicle continued to whir in ever slower circles even after the power was cut, creating a strong wind that threatened to knock over the short, blue man that was running impatiently towards the launch pad. 

Before the little goblin could reach the launch pad, though, two people exited the helicopter and made their way towards the creature that was approaching them. Pleased that he would not have to brave the winds that the chopper was making, the blue man, who looked more like a boy, stopped and waited for the two to reach him. When they were within fifteen paces, the woman with black hair and the brown, fluffy furred dog-man simultaneously dropped to one knee and bowed their heads respectfully. 

"Well? Did you get it?" the gremlin demanded rudely in a annoyingly high and nasal voice. 

The woman gave the creature a triumphant smile and reached into her gray trench coat with one hand. "Yes, sire, we did," she intoned proudly, pulling out a small orange ball about the size of a baseball. Within the ball there hung two little red stars that glinted slightly with reflected light. The blue goblin gave a delighted cry, running forward to snatch the treasured thing out of the woman's hands. 

"Yes! YES!! Nyahahaha!!! The first step towards the reign of Emperor Pilaf, soon to be the ruler of the entire world!" The creature known as Emperor Pilaf cackled with glee, dancing around like a sugar-crazed child for a full ten seconds before he turned angrily on the dog man. "And what about you?" he snapped. "Did you get the Thing?" 

Proud to have finally some something to please his master, the dog-man grinned and nodded happily. "Yes, sire, I did," he said in a mellow, almost stupid sounding voice. He opened one paw and held out the Hoi Poi capsule for inspection, which Pilaf greedily plucked up as soon as he saw it. "Agent Mai and I even tested it to make sure it works properly. It was a huge success." 

"Excellent work, Shao," Pilaf praised, smirking evilly. "With this thing, _no_ one will be able to stop me from getting what's rightfully mine, not even that stupid monkey-boy and his friends. I shall be ruler of the entire world!" Stroking the capsule as lovingly as though it were a beloved pet, the self-proclaimed emperor threw his head back and began laughing maniacally, ensuring that anyone who heard him would be convinced that his sanity had long since leaked out from between his pointed blue ears. 

"Now go back out there and get me another dragonball!" he ordered imperiously once he finished his bout of evil laughter. "I've waited far too long to become emperor and I refuse to wait any longer than necessary." 

"But, sire, we haven't even eaten yet!" Agent Shao protested. 

"Do you want me to use my new toy on you, Agent Shao?" Pilaf asked threateningly, giving the dog-man his best glare. Both Shao and Mai gulped audibly and shook their heads. "Then do as I say and get me those dragonballs!" Both lackeys jumped up and bowed their compliance, anxious to escape the mad emperor's ire, and ran back to the helicopter before he tried to punish them for anything. 

~*~ 

Once breakfast was over, everyone gathered in the main room of the Turtle House to lay out plans for the dragonball hunt. Much to his annoyance and Bulma's delight, Radditz once again had to put up with the blue haired girl wrapping cloth bandages around his wounds, though this time there was no need to clean the cuts and scrapes, courtesy of the fact that he had just finished taking a shower. He had been hoping to avoid the eleven year old's ministrations and had even protested that since they were clean and none of them were that serious, he didn't need to have them bandaged. Unfortunately, Bardock had once again stepped in and insisted that his son allow Bulma to dress the wounds to keep them clean and prevent them from getting any sort of infection. 

_Damn father for showing his paternal instincts now of all times_, Radditz silently fumed, glowering at Bardock's back. _If he's so concerned for my health, why isn't _he_ the one putting the bandages on!? _If he had been paying attention to exactly what Bulma was doing, he might have noticed that she was taking a little longer than last time to finish what she was doing. 

Bulma, for her part, was absolutely delighted to have a second opportunity not only to touch Radditz but also to show him that she had knowledge of first aid and medicine. Not enough to make her a doctor or a nurse, but perhaps enough that she could impress her crush and get him to notice her. Rule number 39 of Ways To Attract Men clearly stated: Show him that you have valuable skills. Since he was obviously a fighter, having a girlfriend who could tend your injuries if you got hurt in a fight was definitely a good thing. A the thought of actually being Radditz's girlfriend, Bulma's mind started to wander and her fingers lingered over a bandage she had just placed on a thin cut on the teenager's lower back. Her fingers brushed up against something furry during her daydreams and her mind snapped back to attention. She looked down to find that she was touching Radditz's brown tail where it emerged from his spine. She watched in absolute fascination as the thing twitched back and forth in an agitated manner. Sure, she'd seen and touched Goku's tail more than once, but this was entirely different. Biting her lip nervously, she found that she was _very_ tempted to stroke the wandering brown appendage. 

Before she realized what she was doing, she found that her hand had acted on its own and had curled gently around Radditz's tail. Lost in his own thoughts of vengeance against his father for forcing him to suffer the female's attentions once again, he didn't appear to notice that Bulma was holding his tail in her hand. That is, until she began to hesitantly stroke it with the tip of her finger. All at once his thoughts ripped away from Bardock and he gasped involuntarily and stiffened, eyes widening to their fullest, and every muscle in his body tensed and shuddered despite all his self control. In contrast to the rest of his body, though, every hair on Radditz's tail fluffed out and the limb itself curled almost _happily_ around her arm. Startled by such an extreme reaction to something as simple as petting his tail, Bulma hastily pulled her arm away, allowing the thing to drop. Not content with sitting still, the tail swished and curled in a lazy, content manner. Radditz, however, was not so pleased. 

Whipping his tail protectively around his waist, Radditz snarled angrily as he snapped his head around to face Bulma and gave her his harshest glare. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" he growled, jerking away roughly to gain more space between himself and the blue haired girl, his face flushed in embarrassment and mortification. Even Bulma's love-addled mind could not miss the fury his voice contained, nor could anyone else in the room. All conversation stopped as everyone turned their attention to the confrontation between the two. 

"Wh-what?" Bulma stammered, surprised by the venom of his words. 

"Never, _ever_ touch my tail again!!" Radditz yelled, eyes flashing darkly. Standing up abruptly, he stormed out of the house, indifferent to whatever plans might be made during his absence. He only knew that if he stayed in that room one second longer, he'd probably snap. 

After Radditz vanished through the doorway, silence blanketed the room, until Goten spoke up. "I don't understand. Why did Uncle Radditz get so mad when Bulma petted his tail?" He scratched the back of his head in confusion, looking up at Bardock in hopes of receiving an answer. "I always like it when kaasan pets my tail." 

Bardock squirmed uncomfortably, glancing at the non-Saiyans in the room, then back at his grandson. Goten wasn't the only one with a puzzled look on his face, though. Both Trunks and Goku stared up at Bardock expectantly, along with the five humans present. Vegeta snorted quietly. He knew well enough what had happened. "Well," Bardock began uncertainly, unconsciously mimicking his grandson by rubbing the back of his neck. "It's really not something you'd understand until you're older. It's fine to pet a child's tail, but once they reach a certain age..." He trailed off, uncertain how to continue the sensitive topic. _Kuso... I never had to explain this to Radditz. It's just one of those things that Saiyan children pick up on their own._

Unsurprisingly, Master Roshi was the first to pick up on what Bardock was hinting at, despite the fact that he was human. He had heard about how sensitive Saiya-jin tails are from Goku, and since his mind tended to make frequent visits to the gutter, he could guess what Radditz's reaction and Bardock's words actually signified. Being the old pervert that he is, it also didn't take him long to go from 'sensitive' Saiyan tails to 'sensitive' _female_ Saiyan tails and his nose promptly began to bleed. Noticing this, Bardock gave the venerable old man a dirty look, silently telling him to shut up and leave the 'explaining' to him. Fortunately for him, Roshi was still very much distracted with hentai fantasies about Saiyan women and so did not bother trying to educate the clueless chibis. 

Taking a deep breath, Bardock said, "When you get older, your tail will get more sensitive, so you probably won't want to let anyone touch it, unless you really trust them." Without knowing how to continue without getting explicit and not wanting to damage their childhood innocence with the truth, he could only hope that would satisfy them for now. "Do you understand?" 

Thankfully, all three of the boys nodded their comprehension, taking Bardock's word for it with the blind faith that only children seem to possess. Bulma, however, was nowhere near as naive as the chibis and had observed the reactions of the older males. Radditz's involuntary response, Roshi's bloody nose, and Bardock's discomfort with the subject added together in her mind and it didn't take long for Bulma to figure out the _real _explanation for Radditz's behavior. An embarrassed flush spread across her cheeks as she realized exactly what she had done to Radditz. _I don't care _what_ the books say... I never meant to be _that_ forward!_ she moaned inwardly. _Great. Now I've embarrassed Radditz and made him... react like that... in front of his family. What if he hates me for it?_

A perverted cackle from Muten Roshi brought Bulma out of her self reproach. "Whoooaa boy, do I ever wish I had a tail now!" he mumbled to himself, loud enough that Bulma could hear perfectly well. With their Saiya-jin hearing, so could everyone else, excluding Yamcha, Krillen, and Lunch. Bardock and Bulma both glared daggers at the martial arts master, while Trunks, Goten, and Goku simply looked clueless. Vegeta remained expressionless, not caring one way or the other. 

"Well, we all know where _his_ mind is," Bulma muttered under her breath. Deciding that it was time to change the subject, she raised her voice. "We should be getting back to planning the dragonball hunt!" 

Just as desperate as Bulma to switch to a less embarrassing topic, Bardock gave the girl a grateful look, then said, "It would take too long to really stock up enough food to last us for very long, so I've decided that we'll spend the rest of the day hunting until we fill the empty capsules that we have. After that, we can hunt for food as we need it during the search for the dragonballs. We have two dragon radars now, the one Trunks brought with him and the one Goku has, so we _could_ split up into two groups. However, I'd prefer it if we stick together as one group. It'd be easier to keep track of each other and all our talents can be pooled together. Who all is coming with us?" By 'us,' he clearly meant the people with Saiyan blood. 

Bulma was the only one to raise her hand. Lunch, Krillen, and Master Roshi explained that they had no real interest in searching for the lost dragonballs. Yamcha shrugged and said, "Well, I kind of left Puar behind and she'll be mad at me if I just abandon her. You don't mind, do you Bulma?" Pleased that her best friend had thought to ask about her feelings, Bulma smiled and shook her head. 

Nodding to himself, Bardock turned his attention on the eleven year old girl. "That being the case, how do you intend to accompany us? We can all fly, except Goku, who's still learning, but he has Kinto'un if necessary. If this were a short trip, I'd offer to carry you myself, but I'm guessing this trip will be well over a day in length." 

"Oh, that's no problem," Bulma replied easily. "I can always take an air car." 

"Actually, I have a better idea," Trunks interrupted. "Your air car is probably really slow, so maybe you should use one of mine." _Being from the future definitely has its advantages,_ he thought. _I can only imagine how slow we'd have to make ourselves go just to keep from losing Bulma!_

A flicker of annoyance crossed Bulma's face at the insult to something she had helped to create, but she brightened when she thought it over. "Hey, that would be great! Think maybe I could take a peek inside?" she asked, a wheedling tone to her voice. 

"Absolutely not," Bardock refused, frowning with irritation. "Trunks, letting Bulma get hold of any technology from the future could really mess up the timeline. I don't think that's such a good idea." At his words, the girl looked crestfallen, disappointed that she wouldn't be able to examine some of her inventions from the future. 

"But, Bardock-san," Trunks protested. "So long as she doesn't actually look _inside_ the car, what harm could it do? Besides, do _you_ really want to travel as slowly as the air cars of this time go?" He smirked faintly as he pulled out his trump card on this matter. 

Bardock only had a think about it for a moment before he sighed in resignation. "Okay, Bulma can use your air car. But only," he added sharply before either one could celebrate, "if Bulma promises _not_ to take it apart!" Bulma sighed, but decided not to let it get her down too much. After all, at least she was still being allowed to go with them! "Now that that's settled," Bardock continued, "we should get started on gathering food." 

~*~ 

After several hours of all of the Saiyans fishing, the food capsules were filled and they were ready to go. Bulma allowed Yamcha to take her air car so he could get back to Puar, since she wouldn't be needing the thing for a while. They thanked Master Roshi for his hospitality and Lunch for cooking, and set off, Bulma in her newly acquired, or, rather, _borrowed_ air car and holding the radar she'd lent to Goku, while the other six hovered in the air. The idea was that Bulma would carry one Dragon Radar so that she could follow the Saiyans even if she couldn't see them, and vice versa. Goku had wanted to ride Kinto'un from the start, but Bardock shook his head and said that he expected his son to practice flying as often as possible until it became second nature. Not only would it be a useful skill, but practicing controlling his ki in such a way would be good to develop some of his hidden strength. 

With a final wave to the island's inhabitants, the seven members of the group took off, heading for the nearest blip on the Dragon Radar screens. Even Radditz, who was still angry about the earlier humiliation, couldn't help but admit that he felt a thrill of excitement as they started on their quest with new adventures and unknown perils around every corner. 

And so the dragonball hunt began. 

~*~ 

Wouldn't it be just _mean_ if I ended the story here? *smirks evilly* Fortunately for you guys, I'm not that cruel... Well, I shouldn't say that, considering that I never know what evil things I might have planned for later. Anyway, there's still quite a bit left in this story. I am _not_ going to skimp on the dragonball hunt, so it will span several chapters. 

Well, guess what? I have a _job_ now! I've been hired by the librarian of the International School at Austin to be her personal data transcriber. Just a part time job, but it cuts into my time online. I know you've all loved me getting chapters out so quickly, but now that I actually have something to do with my life other than write, you'll have to suffer with an update every two or three days. I mentioned that two chapters ago, didn't I? Hey, no complaining. Once every two to three days is still faster than most of the authors on ff.net update! 

I'd really appreciate reviewer input on what things I can do during the dragonball hunt! Where exactly are those troublesome wish granting balls anyway? And what obstacles lie in store for our heroes? Who will they meet along the way? (Before you ask, yes, Chi-Chi will show up!) Anything else? 

Please review! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Dragon Ball Generations" by Brandon B, story id 395044 has got to be one of the best stories I have ever read! It's a post-GT story about an enemy that travels from the future back in time to get the Dragon Balls. It's up to Trunks, Pan, Goten, Uubu, Bra and Vegeta to stop him. And Piccolo searches for the missing Goku. T/P and more new couples! But it doesn't stop there, either! There are three sequels to this story! Anyway, this guy is so good, he make me want to cry with envy of his writing skills. Go read! 


	38. Grandpa Gohan

I have nothing to say. O_O 

Oh, well, when in doubt.... Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! *sniffs* You guys are so nice to me, and your suggestions for the story help out more than you might realize. Arigato, mina! 

Disclaimer: If I owned DBZ.... ahhh, who am I kidding? I don't own DBZ, so the whole concept of what I'd do if I _did_ own it is a moot point. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Grandpa Gohan) 

Gliding through the air at what was, for him, a leisurely pace, Bardock glanced down at the Dragon Radar in his hand to confirm that he was traveling in the right direction. Trunks had shown him how to operate the thing properly, not that it was all the difficult, so it only took a swift look at the screen to be able to tell that they were getting close to the location of the first dragonball. Tucking the device into the waistband of his pants, he closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the feel of the sun on his skin and the wind in his hair. With gentle breezes and mild temperatures, emerald green vegetation growing for as far as the eye could see, and only a bank of gray clouds on the horizon marring the sapphire blue sky, it was indeed a beautiful day on this strange planet known as Earth. So different from Vegeta-sei, and yet Bardock found himself growing increasingly fond of this alien world. 

Bardock opened his eyes again and focused on the three youngest children in the group. He was amused to find that they were currently engaged in a friendly game of tag in which his son was losing. Badly. _Poor Goku,_ he chuckled inwardly. _He's still so new at flying, he doesn't even have a chance. In fact, it looks like Bulma had to slow her car down just to make sure he didn't get left behind._ Bardock flipped over so he was flying with his back to the ground, crossing his arms thoughtfully. _Maybe I should let Goku use that cloud of his now. He's only just learned how to fly, he's probably exhausted.___

As he swerved in towards Goten, Trunks, and Goku, he found that he had been correct in his assumption that Goku was tired. The seven year old was hardly able to stay in the air, and this time it wasn't from lack of concentration. Seeing his father, though, Goku's expression perked up a little and he waved to Bardock, which brought a grin to the older Saiyan's face. "I think you've been flying long enough that you've earned a break, Goku," Bardock said as he flew alongside his youngest son. "If you want, you can call your cloud friend, or ride with Bulma. Your pick." 

Giving his dad a grateful look, Goku cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Kinto'uuun!!" Within moments, the orangy-yellow puff zipped up and underneath the boy, who settled into the fluffy magical cloud with a sigh of relief. It really was tiring work to fly non-stop for a solid hour or more. Goku turned and looked up at his father, flashing a brief "Victory!" sign, then raced back to where Goten and Trunks had continued the game of tag. Bardock grinned as he watched the child reinsert himself into the game with renewed vigor. _Probably doesn't want to be defeated without a fight,_ Bardock mused. _Just like a Saiyan._

Now that Goku was riding Kinto'un, the pace of their journey picked up, making the landscape below seem to rush by in a blur. The clouds on the horizon grew, but Bardock wasn't worried. Judging by what the radar showed, they would find the first ball well before they met the storm front. Since Trunks had brought a rather large capsule house among the other things in his capsule case, shelter was also not a problem. The worst the storm would do was delay them a bit. Again, Bardock had no problem with that. The longer this hunt took, the more time he would have to spend with his grandson before the boy disappeared from his life forever. Bardock shook his head and mentally shied away from this line of thought. He didn't feel like being depressed, and there was no need to worry about the future until it actually arrived. 

Meanwhile, Goku, Goten, and Trunks had given up their game of tag and were now discussing hide and seek. The two demi-Saiyans saw in Goku another playmate, not the future father of Goten, and had determined that while they were in the past, they might as well enjoy it as much as possible. Goku was just the right age to enjoy the games they did, if only he knew some of the basic techniques. He was already working on flying, but there were two other key problems. Ki sensing and ki suppression. While Goku might already have a basic sense of what ki was, he had no clue how to sense or hide it, two necessary things for a good game of hide and seek. Thus, it was up to the boys from the future to educate Goku in the principles of these techniques. They were confidant that they could do a pretty good job of it, too, since they had already had plenty of practice teaching Bardock, Vegeta, and Radditz. 

Figuring that enough time had passed since he had last looked at the radar, Bardock pulled out the green and silver object and clicked the button on the top until a small yellow blip appeared on the screen. A triumphant smile crossed his face as he realized just how close they were to their first target. Signaling the others to land, he started descending toward a clearing that should be able to handle the capsule car Bulma flew in. Once there, he waited for everyone to land before he spoke up. 

"Okay, the first ball is pretty close to here," he said, gesturing in the general direction in which the dragonball lay. "You can either come with me or wait here as you like, it's up to you." Not surprisingly, no one opted to stay behind. Vegeta and Radditz were curious to see what these balls looked like, Goten, Goku, and Trunks just plain didn't want to be left out of any of the fun, and Bulma flat out refused to be left behind. As the blue haired girl capsulized the car, Bardock shook his head ruefully, wondering if this was going to set the precedent for the entire dragonball hunt. 

As it turned out, finding the dragonball was no problem. Getting to it, however, was another matter entirely. They walked through the forest until they came to the spot that the radar said the ball should be and, looking around, found nothing except for a small hole set into the side of a low cliff. The hole was much to small for Bardock, Radditz, Bulma, or even Vegeta to crawl through and looked to be a tight fit for even one of the three littler boys. Determined not to let a mere hole get in the way of obtaining one of the dragonballs, Goku got down on his hands and knees and poked his head inside the hole. 

"Hey, I think I see it!" he called out excitedly, his voice muffled by the dirt and rocks surrounding his head. Before anyone could protest, he wriggled his body further into the tunnel until only the tip of his furry brown tail could be seen. Pretty soon, even that disappeared from view, leaving the only the scuffs and scrabbling sounds as the only proof of his continued existence. All of a sudden, he yelped in surprise. "Ah!! There's something in here!" Bardock was about to blast the side of the cliff to rubble to rescue his son from whatever trouble he might have gotten himself into, but stopped himself when he heard Goku give a delighted laugh. "It's just a badger," he said. "I bet this hole is its home. It's okay, little guy, I won't eat you! I just want that orange ball behind you." Bulma made a disgusted sound, knowing from experience that, under other circumstances, Goku might very well have been tempted to eat a badger. Apparently, from the angry sounds it made, the badger also thought Goku might be intent on making it his next meal. "Ow! Hey! Don't bite me! I'm not gonna hurt you. There, see? All I wanted was the dragonball. You can go back to sleep, now, 'cause I'm getting out of your home. Bye, mister badger!" 

A few moments later, a much dirtier Goku crawled backwards out of the badger hole, the fingers of one hand curled tightly around a small orange sphere. Bardock found it hard to suppress a grin as he took in the proud smile on his son's dirt smudged face. Goku held up the dragonball and whooped victoriously, "I got it! I got our first dragonball!" The boy lowered his prize and took a look inside the sphere, counting the stars within. "One, two, three, four... hey! It's the four star ball! It's _Grandpa!_" If the chibi Saiyan had been happy before, he was absolutely ecstatic now. "I can't believe it! I got my grandpa back!" Clutching the dragonball to his chest, Goku jumped up and down with glee, his tail joyfully swishing back and forth. 

"Wow, Goku, that's great!" Bulma cheered, pleased to see her friend so happy. 

"Uhh..." Bardock scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I seem to be missing something here. What grandpa?" 

"My grandpa Gohan!" Goku clarified, grinning from ear to ear. "He's the one who found me and raised me. When he died, he left this ball behind, and sometimes he even talks to me! Only he's not really talking, but I can tell what he's saying, so it doesn't matter." 

"Your grandpa, huh?" Bardock mused, glancing up at the sky. He was surprised to find that the storm front that he'd noticed earlier was now directly above them, blotting out the sun to the point that it was almost as dark as dusk. Part of the darkness might be due to the overcast clouds, but it was late enough in the day that it might also be due to the setting sun. Either way, it was time to set up camp. "I'd like to hear more about your grandpa, Goku, but it looks like we're about to be rained on. If Trunks would open up that capsule house of his, we can get you cleaned up, eat dinner, and you can tell me all about him, okay?" 

"Yeah!" Goku quickly agreed. The thought of food and the opportunity to tell his father about his grandpa combined with the euphoria of recovering the four star dragonball was enough to exhilarate the seven year old boy. Even the thought of having to take a bath again couldn't dampen his spirits in the slightest. Once Trunks popped the house out of its capsule, he practically dashed through the door just as the first fat drops of ran splattered in the dirt. The others were soon to follow, no one wanting to get soaked by the cold water that was now slashing down from the blackened sky in sheets. 

~*~ 

"....and I looked at the full moon by accident when I went to pee and the monster came!" A wide eyed Son Goku waved his arms dramatically while Bardock listened attentively, an sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as his son described the death of the man who had raised him. "I didn't actually see the monster, 'cause I was asleep, but when I woke up the whole house was smashed and grandpa was dead! That monster squished my grandpa!" Goku sounded angry at this thought, clenching his small hands into tight fists. "An' that's why you shouldn't look at the full moon, only there isn't a moon anymore for some reason. Maybe that means the monster can't come out anymore. I hope not, 'cause then he might squish someone else's grandpa." Having finished his story, Goku sipped from his steaming mug of cider. They had all eaten and those who had needed it cleaned up in the bath that was installed in the capsule house. Now they were sitting in the living room, drinking hot cider and listening to Goku tell his father stories about Grandpa Gohan. 

An uncomfortable silence descended on the group, affecting mostly Bardock, Radditz, and Bulma. Goten and Trunks were oblivious to the meaning of the hints that Goku's story contained about the true cause of Grandpa Gohan's demise. One look at Bulma's ashen face told Bardock that she somehow knew exactly who the monster really was, perhaps from an encounter with Goku in his oozaru transformation sometime since they'd met each other. Bardock and Radditz glanced at each other, a silent nod passing between them, and they agreed that now was not the time to tell Goku the truth. 

Unfortunately, Vegeta agreed to no such thing. "Don't you know anything about your Saiya-jin heritage, you baka?" he growled derisively at Goku. When the boy only gave him a confused look, the young prince hissed between his teeth and pulled his tail out in front of him so Goku could see. "These things aren't just for decoration, you idiot gaki," he continued, ignoring the sudden glare that Bardock was giving him. "At the sight of the full moon, any Saiyan who has a tail will transform into a giant ape, or oozaru, and will go on a wild rampage. Do you get it now?" Leveling a finger at the stunned chibi, Vegeta spoke the final, damning words. "You were the only Saiyan on this planet at the time. _You_ were the so-called monster that killed your pathetic grandfather." He lowered his hand, folding his arms in self satisfaction, and stared coldly at Goku, pitiless obsidian eyes boring holes into the boy's soft coal eyes. 

"No." The word was a ragged whisper, accompanied by a fierce head shake of denial. "No!" he yelled, his own voice roaring in his ears. "It's not true! You're lying!!" Goku turned his face to look at Bardock pleadingly. "Tousan, tell him he's lying! It wasn't me. It-it _can't_ be me! I'd _never_ kill grandpa!" Unable to bear the hopeful glimmer in his son's eyes, knowing that what Vegeta had said was the truth, Bardock looked guiltily down at the table, silently cursing Vegeta for opening his damn mouth. At the sound of a glass being knocked over and liquid splashing onto the floor, Bardock lifted his head to find that Goku had stumbled out of his chair, accidentally overturning his mug in the process, and was staring at everyone gathered in the room in expectation. The glass continued to roll until it reached the edge of the table, at which point it lazily fell off the table and crashed to the floor, shattering into a million sparkling, razor sharp pieces. A flicker of horrified realization dulled Goku's eyes, his face becoming slack, then screwed up in a look of intense denial. "_NO!!! I didn't kill my grandpa!!!_" he screamed, tears spilling from the corners of his eyes faster than he could blink them away. His small frame shook with repressed emotion as he backed up slowly. 

Just as Bardock stood up, intending to go to his son and do something, anything, to comfort him, Goku gave a heartbroken sob and whipped around to face the door. In the blink of an eye, he had the door open and dashed through it, slamming it shut so hard that it broke off its hinges. Cursing furiously in every language he knew, Bardock ran after his son into the icy, pelting rain storm, nearly tripping on the fallen door. Quickly adjusting to the dark gloom, his eyes darted about in every direction in hopes of catching a glimpse of his youngest son, but it was too dark and the rain was coming down too heavily to see more than a few yards in any direction. He had been too late in escaping the capsule house and Goku had already vanished into the oppressive expanse of the storm whipped forest. Picking a likely direction, he sprinted into the murky forest, desperately casting his senses to the howling winds in search of Goku's ki. He ran for several minutes in hopes of finding some sign of his son's passage, oblivious to the freezing rain that soaked his clothes and skin, chilling him to the bone. _Come on, where are you? You can't have learned to hide your ki yet! No one's taught you!_ Unfortunately, either his son _had_ learned to suppress his ki, or he was mortally wounded and close to death, or already dead, because Bardock's search turned up fruitless. 

Sinking to his knees in helpless frustration, churned up mud seeping into his tattered black pants, the warrior pounded the soggy ground with his clenched fists. "GOOOKUUUU!!!!" he screamed, mindless of the storm's fury as it beat down upon him. His entire body was wracked with shuddering sobs, endless scenarios of everything that might have happened to his youngest child playing and replaying in his head. Throwing his head back, he gave a wordless cry of rage, anguish, grief, loss, every emotion within him. It was happening again. Another person he loved had been lost because he hadn't been there for them, had been too slow in coming to their aid, and too weak to do any good. Just as he had lost Sereri seven years ago, he had lost his second son, whom he had found scarcely two days ago. Again, he had lost one he loved, and he had been unable to do anything about it. 

~*~ 

Brokenly sobbing the entire time, Goku stumbled through the forest, frequently slipping and sliding on rain slicked vegetation. With his ki pushed down as far as it would go, he knew that no one, not his father, his brother, Goten, Trunks, or anyone, would be able to find him. He had learned this particular technique easily enough, surprising both of his teachers, but had yet to master the ability to sense other kis. None of this mattered to his grief stricken mind. All he knew was that he had to get away from them, from his friends and family. Hot tears poured down his face to mix with the frigid rain that thoroughly drenched him, blinding his eyes to the dreary world around him. Thus, he didn't see the gnarled old root that lay in his path, didn't know it was there until his foot caught on it. As fast as he had been going, it was completely impossible for him to regain his balance and he was sent sprawling face first into the muddy slope, rolling a few times before he came to rest at the base of a tree. 

Instead of picking himself up off the ground, the small child curled up into a miserable ball and lay on his side, his cheek resting in the cool mud and grass. Hugging his knees to his chest, he wrapped his tail tightly around his ankles and cried his heart out. "G-Grandpa..." he choked out, shivering violently from cold, shock, guilt, and the grief of reopened emotional wounds. "Grandpa!!" 

So caught up in his own pain was he that he never even noticed the tree limb that came crashing down upon him from above, broken off of the tree it had grown from by the tearing winds of the storm. 

~*~ 

*smirks evilly* Yes. I AM ending it there. The dreaded "To Be Continued!" *cackles* I worked _hard_ on this chapter to make it this evil for my characters _and_ for my readers! I usually don't plan cliff hangers, they just happen, but this one I _did_ plan. I'm quite pleased with how this chapter turned out. I got to flex some long-unused author muscles by invoking mild emotion from the readers _and_ I got to be totally evil. *grins* 

Yes, I know that I made Vegeta into an insensitive jerk in this chapter. I'll explain his reasoning next chapter, but he _is_ a bratty, spoiled ten year old prince. Vegeta lovers: flame me if you want, but I stand by my characterization. And as for you Goku lovers... Yes, I know it was cruel to make Goku find out he killed his grandpa, but I personally think that that is one of the greatest tragedies of Dragonball. The worst thing he's ever done in his life and Goku never finds out. Worse yet, he blamed Vegeta! Vegeta's guilty of enough crimes without adding things he didn't do. *shakes her head* I know he didn't have control of his oozaru transformation, wasn't even really conscious, but he still needs to face the consequences of his actions. 

Please review! 


	39. Visions of the Future

Wow! 800 reviews! I feel so special. ^_^ Congratulations to Sarissa for being the 800th reviewer! You get... um... *searches through her various Magic Bags* Ah! Here ya go! *hands Sarissa a giant lollipop* *grins the famous Son Grin (TM)* 

Special thanks go to ChibiCasey for her help with the first scene of this chapter, as well as helping to organize the rest of the chapter! Without her help, this chapter would have taken a lot longer to write, and it probably wouldn't have turned out as well as it did. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: *listens to evil-inspiring music* Not the kind of evil that makes you want to go sacrifice your friend's goat! *glares accusingly at whatever reader thought that* Just the kind of evil that makes me want to write chapters like the last one. ^_^ I think after the last chapter, several of the DBZ characters are extremely thankful that I do _not_ own DBZ. If I did own DBZ, they wouldn't be allowed to hunt me down for all the evil things I've done and plan to do to them. *gulps as she spots Bardock heading her way* Er... eep... gotta go! *dashes off before the vengeful Saiyan can get to her* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Visions of the Future) 

If looks could kill, Vegeta would now be a bubbling puddle of flesh, blood, and bone shards. It would have been a difficult thing for an observer to decide who exactly was the angriest of the three people glaring heatedly at the Saiyan Prince. Goten was upset and confused, not fully comprehending what was going on, but he understood that Vegeta had been the cause of his father's pain. Radditz, Trunks, and Bulma, however, were furious. Unfortunately for Radditz, he was too weak to act upon his impulse to throttle the ten year old boy who stared indifferently out the broken door of the capsule house. Trunks was barely managing to hold onto his rage by a thread because Vegeta was, after all, his father. 

Bulma, however, had no such compunctions holding her back. 

"You insensitive _bastard_!" she screamed, hurtling her mug, cider and all, at the spiky haired prince's head. Vegeta managed to dodge the glass, but the scalding liquid splashed all over him. The Saiyan yelped as the burning hot cider splattered onto his face, eliciting a string of curses with enough heat to boil ice. 

Giving Bulma his deadliest scowl, Vegeta swore again as he swiped his hand over his face. "What the hell do you mean, chibi onna no ko?" he snarled, one hand clenching into a fist. 

Bulma scowled right back at him, planting her fists on her hips. "You know _exactly_ what I mean, Vegetable head!" she seethed. "You practically tore Goku's heart out! Kuso, why'd you have to tell him that!?" 

"I refuse to entertain his childish self delusions," the boy growled back, his tail lashing furiously behind him. Folding his arms, he lifted his chin imperiously. "I see no reason why I should not have told him he was the one responsible for his _'grandfather's'"_ he spat the word out mockingly, "death." 

Face turning a dark shade of crimson, the blue haired girl could barely keep herself from physically attacking Vegeta. Only the thought of what had happened the last time she'd tried that held her back. "He's a _child_, Vegeta!! How the hell would _you_ feel if _you_ just found you were the reason the only family you'd ever had was _dead?!_" 

Despite the fact that the girl's shrieking voice grated on his ears, Vegeta smirked. "That is irrelevant," he replied casually, spitting contemptuously to one side. "The brat is a weakling to allow himself to be ruled by soft, _human _emotions. Besides, the old man wasn't his family. He was just some pathetic weakling human who was too stupid to realize what he was getting himself into by taking a Saiya-jin child in. He deserved what he got." 

"Why you... you... stupid... stinking... _monkey!_" Bulma spluttered, unable even with her vast knowledge of insults to find one that could accurately describe her opinion of the ten year old prince. 

"Careful, chibi onna," Vegeta taunted, amused by her lame attempt at an insult. "If you keep that big mouth of yours open too long, you might catch a fly. Of course, you already look like a blue haired frog, so catching flies is just the next step for you, isn't it?" 

Eyes flashing furiously, Bulma snapped back, "At least my hair doesn't look like a flytrap! Tell me, how often do you have to comb it just to get the dead bugs out?" 

Anger flashed across Vegeta's face and he drew himself up to his full height, doing his best to stare down his nose at the slightly taller female. "I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji! You will speak to me with respect!" he barked, his words dripping with royal ire. "And I don't see why you're sticking up for that idiot third-class. After all, he murdered his own _'grandfather'_, who was even one of your own people, along with who knows how many other worthless humans." Smirking cruelly, he paused for a moment, then added, "Knowing how weak you are, you should be glad to be rid of him. Even a low level such as he is a threat to your pathetic life." 

"Goku didn't mean to hurt his grandpa! He didn't know what he was doing! He's the sweetest, gentlest, kindest person I know, and probably smarter than you, too!" She really did like Goku, but the facts were that he had been relatively uneducated until he met up with her, so saying that Vegeta was dumber than Goku, a so-called 'third class', was a tremendous insult. But she didn't stop there. "And I don't know about Saiya-jin no Ouji," she mocked scathingly, putting her forefinger under his chin in a manner usually reserved for dealing with small children. "Chibi no Ouji is more like it!" 

Unknown to Bulma, something within Vegeta snapped and his ki began to spike upwards. A vein on his temple throbbed visibly, his eye twitching involuntarily, and his fists clenched and unclenched while his whole body shook with rage. Cocking one of his fists back, energy flaring around his hand, he snarled wordlessly as he prepared to incinerate the creature that _dared_ to insult him in such a manner! 

_Crack!!!_

Before Vegeta had time to even register what had happened, Trunks had phased in between the quarreling duo and backhanded the young prince with enough power to send the black haired boy crashing into the wall. The whole capsule house shuddered from the force of the impact, the wall itself cracked and dented where Vegeta had slammed into it. He slid down the wall to a position that was half sitting, half leaning, blinking in an attempt to clear the stars from his vision. Blood trickled from the Saiyan's nose and into his mouth as the boy stared at the lavender haired demi-Saiyan dazedly. Tasting the blood on his lips, Vegeta raised a shaky hand to his nose, then brought it back far enough to blink in shocked disbelief at the moist redness that covered his fingers. His gaze flickered back to Trunks, this time fully registering the murderous look on his future son's face. 

"I thought I had made it clear, _father_," Trunks stated in a voice so calm and venomous that Vegeta shivered involuntarily. "You will not attack _anyone_ who is not a threat." Stalking forward until he was right in front of the fallen prince, he stared down angrily and added, "Threats to your pride do not count." Not waiting to hear if Vegeta would say anything in response, Trunks growled in disgust and turned his back on the older boy. He knew that if he remained in close proximity to his father's past self he might do something even worse. He, too, was furious with Vegeta for being so cold and cruel to the young Goku, but he also knew that beating the Saiyan Prince to a bloody pulp would not help matters any. Instead, he stalked off to one of the several bedrooms and threw himself into a bed, not bothering to undress. He didn't expect to get any sleep yet, but he hoped that being separated from the source of his anger would help him calm down. 

Meanwhile, Bulma was also in shock as she blinked in surprise at Vegeta, who was only now picking himself up off the floor. _Father?_ she echoed incredulously. _Vegeta is his _father_?! But they're nothing alike! How could he be Trunks's father?_ Unbidden, a vision of the nine year old's face appeared in her mind as he had glared furiously at Vegeta, and Bulma could suddenly see the resemblance. The sharp features, the regally arched eyebrows, the way their mouths were shaped when they were angry, a million small details instantly clear to hindsight, all indicating that a blood relationship between the two did indeed exist. Even with this proof, though, the girl's mind had difficulty grasping the revelation. _Vegeta is Trunks's father??_

Even though the confrontation had ended, the air was still thick with tension. Uncomfortable with the atmosphere, Goten glanced longingly at the broken door and the stormy world outside. However, before he could even take one step, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning his face up towards the person holding him back, he found his Uncle Radditz shaking his head. 

"Your grandfather doesn't need any help," the fifteen year old boy stated reluctantly, as though he, too, wanted nothing more than to join his father in the search for his little brother. "If he can't find Goku, I doubt either of us could. We would only get in his way and distract him." Watching his nephew swallow a lump in his throat, tears threatening to form in his eyes, Radditz uncomfortably concluded that it was his job to do something to take the boy's mind away from the situation. Awkwardly picking up the boy who looked so much like his brother, the older Saiyan said, "It's getting late. I'll take you to your bed." 

~*~ 

The storm was still raging at its fullest when Bardock stood up stiffly, his muscles protesting against moving after being still for two solid minutes in the cold, cramp inducing rain. He ignored the complaints of his body, grimly setting his jaw as he once again began to search for his missing son. This time, he did not run. If the reason he could not sense Goku's ki was that the boy was injured, he would be more likely to miss him or any signs he might have left of his passage by running through the woods haphazardly. Instead, he walked, casting his eyes and his senses in all directions, attempting to pierce the gloom that the combined might of the storm and night time created. 

Lightning flared across the sky, momentarily highlighting everything in harsh blue tones before fading away. Moments later, a crash of thunder rumbled in the distance, vibrating in Bardock's sensitive ears. Bardock ignored both the lightning and the thunder as he plodded stoically through the mud and underbrush, every sense in his body straining to its limits. Goku was out there somewhere, he knew. It was only a matter of finding him. 

Another flash illuminated the night, followed closely by another resounding crack that sounded more like a giant boulder breaking under the strain of a some angry god's hammer. For some reason, the thunder just kept on going, thrumming in his ears, rushing, roaring, almost deafening him. Then he realized, his confusion causing him to pause in his search, that it wasn't thunder. The air itself, while being whipped by the constant rain, was not shivering the way it did when thunder rolled through. _What? If there's no thunder, then what _am_ I hearing?_

A wave of dizziness overtook him and he reached out to put a hand on the bole of a large tree to steady himself. However, instead of meeting rough bark, his fingers passed through the trunk of the tree and he lost his balance. Stumbling, he managed to catch himself before he fell, turning around as he did so to glare in puzzlement at the insubstantial tree. 

"What the hell?" he muttered, passing his hand through the tree once more to be sure that it hadn't just been his imagination. No such luck. The tree remained firmly in place, and definitely intangible. All at once, the tree disappeared, leaving no trace that it had ever existed in the first place. Bardock stared at the spot where it had been moments before, then slowly shook his head. "I'm imagining things," he stated firmly, swiftly turning his back on the place where the phantom tree once stood. 

Putting the incident firmly out of his mind, the warrior began his search again with renewed vigor. He didn't care how long he was out here or how cold, wet, or miserable it was in this forest. He would not rest until he had found Goku. If anything, the discomfort he was feeling only proved to strengthen his resolve to locate his son as quickly as possible, knowing that the boy was also suffering the same weather conditions he was. A hardened warrior like himself could withstand such things, but Bardock doubted that Goku had undergone the same training he had, or experienced the same things that allowed him to continue on, oblivious to the raging elements. No, if Goku didn't have some form of shelter over his head or, worse yet, if he was injured and lying somewhere exposed to these harsh conditions, there was a good chance that the seven year old's health would suffer severely, and the longer it took Bardock to find him, the longer he would have to endure the icy storm. 

It was with great surprise that he found himself once again facing the phantom tree, almost as if the thing had popped up in his path out of thin air. He could tell it was the same tree because it was taller than most of the trees in the forest and because it had a distinctive shape to its top, three separate lobes like a three leaf clover or a club. Frowning, he noticed something he hadn't seen before. On the ground next to the tree was a fourth lobe, split off from the main trunk as though cloven by a colossal axe. Almost hesitantly, Bardock reached out towards the tree to see if it was real. Right before his hand would have met the trunk, the mysterious tree disappeared again. A scowl furrowed Bardock brow and he cursed fluently. "What the hell is going on here?!" he fumed, glaring at the rain slicked grass that had been beneath the crushing weight of the fallen limb. Not surprisingly, nothing answer his question except the howl of the winds. 

With an increasing feeling of frustration, the tall Saiyan took a firm step forward, determined to continue the search for his missing son. 

At least, that's what he tried to do. Instead, his foot faltered as another wave of dizziness struck him, accompanied by a sharp pain in his head that drove him to his knees, clutching his head between his hands. He grimaced as the pain and nausea threatened to topple him, then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Blinking furiously, his eyes focused and, again, he was staring head on at the now-familiar tree. This time, though, he did not question what was going on. He knew. Oh Kami, he knew! 

"No! Not again!!" he shouted desperately, swiping his hands across his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision of water and of the sight of the tree. _I thought the visions were gone for good!_ he protested inwardly as he saw that the tree remained where it was, its branches bending _against_ the wind, proving without the need for physical contact that this tree was also a ghost, a figment of the curse of foresight that Bardock suffered. 

Almost against his will, Bardock's eyes were drawn to the fallen limb, a thing almost as big around as the Saiya-jin was at the waist. Branches and limbs had splintered off the main piece in every direction, making it hard to see what lay beneath, but he somehow knew exactly where to look. Almost as if he already knew. 

There, beneath one of the larger parts of the phantom tree limb, was what his contracting heart had known all along he would find. Mind numb with the glimpse he had caught, Bardock stumbled forward a few steps until he had a clear view of focus of the vision. All feeling left him and he stopped breathing, his throat squeezing so tight it hurt, his eyes widened and pupils dilated in shock and denial of what he saw. 

Broken, bloody, and lifeless, the body of Son Goku lay pinned by the bole of the branch, a long splinter jabbing clear through his side and out his back, blood mingling with the icy rain to become a diluted pink that stained the boy's pale, bloodless skin. The bones of one of his legs had snapped, parts of the bone sticking out through the ragged flesh and torn material of the blue gi that had once belonged to Goten. His face was slack, motionless, and frozen in an expression of agony and turmoil, both mental and physical. Bardock's gut wrenched within him as he realized the Goku _was not moving_. At first he passed it off as part of the vision, that maybe the whole scene was a frozen moment of time, but then he saw the branches of the tree quiver in the wind and he knew. Knew that it was too late, that his youngest son had ceased to move because he could no longer draw breath. 

"No..." he whispered disbelievingly, and yet knowing that the vision was true. The visions had always been accurate, except for the one time when his grandson from the future had stepped in. Even after the vision disappeared again, Bardock kept seeing the body of his youngest son, helplessly crushed by the limb of a tree with three remaining lobes. Sinking to his knees, he buried his fingers in the mud and grass where the ghost of Goku's corpse had been a bare second ago, a choked sob escaping his lips. "NOOOOO!!!!" Gathering breath for another throat wrenching cry, Bardock screamed until his lungs burned for air, then launched himself into the tempestuous night, aura blazing around him as hotly as the grief within him burned, knowing from the vision what to look for in order to find his son's body. "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!" 

~*~ 

What? Did you really think I was done being evil? *laughs ominously* Not by a long shot! 

I bet you all thought I'd forgotten about Bardock's ability to see the future! Ha! I was just saving it for a special occasion. ^_^ 

Oh, I was informed that in the original manga, Goku did eventually realize he was the one who killed Grandpa Gohan, but that's kind of a moot point. 

Please review. ^_^ 

(A/N: There is no story advertising because, frankly, I've been too busy writing these chapters to be able to spend much time searching for good fics.)   
  
  



	40. Wounded Birds

Disclaimer: *sprints across the screen waving a big sign that says "I DON'T OWN DBZ."* Sorry, can't talk! Gotta go! Bye! *dashes off the screen with Bardock, Radditz, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and a whole horde of other angry characters chasing after her* Eeeeep! *frantically dodges a few ki blasts* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Wounded Birds) 

Lightning slashed through the pitch black clouds, turning the sky an angry, bruised purple for a few brief seconds. The ensuing thunder crashed into the air with the sheer force of a tidal wave, threatening to crack the very world with its power. As though that had been a signal, the ferocity of the storm intensified until the rain sliced through the air like frozen daggers that attempted to thrash everything they touched to shreds, then leave what was left to drown miserably in an icy puddle. 

Oblivious to the freezing rain, Bardock realized he had a major problem barring him in his search: It was too dark to see the shapes of the treetops clearly enough to be able to distinguish one tree from another. Refusing to allow such a thing as the dark to hinder him in finding his son, the warrior held his hand up in the air and gathered his ki in it, shoving everything he had into the glowing yellow ball until it burned with the intensity of the sun. Not good enough. While the light it provided was enough to reveal the landscape around him for a fair distance, the ki ball's light did not extend nearly as far as he would need. Hot, salty tears poured down his face, mingling with the rain that drenched him, and he focused on his pain and sorrow, drawing energy from the strength of his grief. Giving an anguished scream as he envisioned the broken form of his son, Bardock felt his ki spike higher and higher, searing his body as it pulsed up into his raised hand until, finally, the sphere was so bright that it illuminated the world around him almost as far as he could see. 

The air around him began to steam as the rain that came too close to the intense heat of Bardock's ki evaporated before it could even come in contact with him. Satisfied, the Saiyan stared down into the forest below, drifting through the air as quickly as he dared and still be sure that he had examined every tree. The strain of having to hold such a huge amount of energy taxed his body, sweat dripping from every pore from both the heat and the stress of constantly siphoning his ki to power the miniature nova. None of that mattered to him, though. All that he cared about was reaching his son before his terrible vision had a chance to come true. 

Another memory slid across his mind, a memory of another storm and another desperate search. _This is just like it was with Sereri..._ Bardock shuddered, tears flowing freshly down his cheeks, remembering how that search had ended. _I promise you, Goku, I won't let it end like that! Not this time! I'll find you, I swear it._ Swallowing a painful lump in his throat, he added, _I won't let you die!!_

Something at the edge of the light shed by his ki orb caught his attention, a faint outline of a tree that rose above the others, and an ominous sense of foreboding suddenly prickled his skin. With his stomach twisting in knots, the Saiyan blasted through the cloudy sky, leaving a blazing trail in his wake. His heart pounded wildly in his ears, drowning out the distant thunder, and it felt like a wild animal was trapped within his gut, scrabbling frantically to get free. Hope fluttered in the back of his mind like a wounded bird as he drew near enough to be able to count the lobes of the tree. Three. Three lobes in a clover shape. And a fourth. A fallen branch that could almost have qualified as a fully grown tree in its own right, splintered away from its parent by the force of the storm. 

Bardock gave a strangled cry and dropped from the sky like a stone, releasing the built up energy of the ki ball as he did so. _That's the tree I saw in my vision! And if the branch is already on the ground, that means... it means that..._ "NO!! GOKU!!!" His feet had barely touched the ground before he was sprinting forward, desperately shoving aside the broken and splintered branches that lay in his path, until he caught sight of what he had prayed he would not see. 

His son. 

Just as he had seen in his vision, Goku lay sprawled out on the ground, barely visible beneath the massive branch that had fallen across his chest, almost crushing it with its weight. A piece of the limb had broken away and now impaled the child, angling into his side just below his ribs and all the way through until it emerged from his back. One leg was badly mangled, broken and twisted in a way that was far from natural and had to have hurt like hell when it had been snapped. Blood was everywhere, watered down by the rain, which had abated somewhat until it was nothing more than a depressing, bone-chilling drizzle. It stained everything near the boy with shades of red and pink that slowly faded as the rain continued to mix with it. 

"No..." Bardock whispered hoarsely, collapsing to his knees next to the motionless form of his youngest son. He reached a trembling hand out to caress the boy's bloodless, clammy cheek and was suddenly wracked by shuddering sobs. "No...." There was no warmth, no life in Goku's pain contorted face. He was too late. "Nooo," he moaned, using a carefully controlled ki blast to incinerate the branch where it had pinned his son to the ground. Tears spilled from his stinging eyes like a salty river, nearly blinding him as he gently pulled the wooden stake from the ragged, gaping wound in the boy's side. Tossing the bloodied object to one side, he tenderly gathered his son's limp, broken body in his arms, rocking him back and forth as grief overtook him. "Nooo...," he sobbed, bowing his head and clutching Goku's cold, battered form to his chest and burying his face in the boy's spiky, matted hair. 

Once again, he had been too late, and now he had lost his precious son. He would never hear his carefree laughter, would never see his innocent smile, would never feel his warm arms encircle his neck. None of those things would ever happen again, and it was all his fault. His fault for being too slow. His fault for not stopping Vegeta before the prince could reveal the harsh truth of Gohan's death. His fault for abandoning Goku in the first place. He had failed his son just as he had failed his mate seven years ago. 

As Bardock cried into his son's hair, his tears soaking the midnight strands, the heavens continued to openly weep with him, the pace of the rain picking up once more to a steady downpour, ensuring that he remained thoroughly drenched, leaching all the warmth from his body. He didn't care. His son was dead. Compared to that, nothing in the entire universe mattered anymore. "Goku.... my son...." he choked out, feeling as though his heart was about to break like spun glass that had been carelessly knocked off a shelf. And like that figurative shattered glass, he knew that there would be no way to mend his broken heart. "My son..." 

~*~ 

Oblivious to the rain, Bardock trudged dispiritedly back towards the capsule house, still cradling Goku against his chest, the blood from his son's wounds staining his pink shirt crimson. Bardock didn't even notice, nor would he have cared if he had. His mind was numb, his grief having washed away all form of conscious thought. Tired, cold, wet, miserable, and feeling pretty hopeless, all he wanted was to go home, collapse in a warm, dry bed, and grieve for his lost son. He could worry about everything else later. 

In fact, he was paying so little attention to the world around him that he didn't even notice when Goku's seven year old hand twitched and curled around a fistful of Bardock's shirt. Nor did he notice when his son's head shifted ever so slightly to rest more easily against his father's broad chest. Goku's eyes flickered open sleepily, taking a few moments to be able to focus properly. 

"O... tou... san?" he whispered faintly, barely audible even to Saiya-jin ears. Drained by the effort to say even that much, his eyes slid shut again. 

Bardock jerked to a halt in mid stride, nearly tripping over his own feet as stunned disbelief nearly shorted out his nervous system. His son.... his _dead_ son... He... was... talking? His eyes widened in shock and, unconsciously, his mouth dropped open. However, his vocal cords had constricted painfully to the point of uselessness, and nothing came out except his own ragged breathing. Closing his mouth, all he could do was stare in dazed amazement at the child he held in his arms. 

To his surprise, he found that he was crying again. He had thought that he had no more tears with which to cry, but apparently he was wrong. This time, though, the tears were ones of joy, trailing down his cheeks to collect in the corners of his broad grin. His heart felt like it had stopped beating, swelling to twice its normal size, and he had to concentrate just to keep breathing. Letting out a wild whoop, he twirled around gleefully, then leapt into the air and blasted off, eager to get back to the capsule house where he could tend his son's wounds. 

~*~ 

It was probably a very shocking sight to behold when Bardock raced into the house, sopping wet, covered in blood, holding a half-dead and even bloodier Goku in his arms, and grinning madly the entire time. Bulma and Radditz, the only two who were still awake, openly gaped at him. They had decided to wait as long as they could for Bardock to get back and had been contemplating giving up for the night when the Saiyan in question ran through the entrance. Since the door had been beyond repair, it had been propped up against the wall and out of the way. Judging by how recklessly Bardock had entered, that was probably a good thing, since it would most likely have been damaged even further if they had tried to put it back into its original place. 

"He's alive!" Bardock announced happily as he stood in the middle of the room, a large puddle of water forming beneath his feet. Oblivious to the stares he was getting from the two children, he walked over to the table and gently laid his son on the surface, stripping the boy's blue gi off. "However," he continued, turning completely serious as he surveyed the extent of the damage. "He's pretty badly injured. I need you two to help me get him cleaned up. Bulma, find whatever it is you Chikyuu-jin use to clean and bind wounds. Radditz, I need you to pin Goku down while I snap those broken bones back in place." Involuntarily glancing at the mangled leg that Bardock indicated, Bulma paled, feeling as though she was going to be sick. She quickly looked away and hurried off to get the bandages and antiseptic from the first aid kit, assuming it would be in the bathroom where such things were normally kept. 

Waiting until Radditz had firmly trapped his little brother with his arms, Bardock studied the bones in Goku's leg again, judging how what angle and how much pressure would be needed to force them back into their correct position. It was a sobering sight, to say the least. When he cleaned the wound, he would have to be careful to get all of the mud out, and there were a few bone splinters that would have to be removed before the wound could be bandaged. Glancing around, he plucked a thin pillow from one of the couches and placed it between Goku's teeth. "Okay, I'm ready," he said, to Radditz and himself. Radditz pressed down on the boy's shoulders hard enough to keep him in place, careful not to injure him further. Bardock counted to three silently, grasping the two parts of his son's broken leg, then swiftly twisted his hands and snapped the bones back into place. 

A heart rending scream pierced the air as the sudden pain jolted Goku into momentary consciousness, thrashing futilely against his older brother's grip. If Bardock and Radditz had not both been there to hold down both his upper and lower body, his struggles might have done even more damage to the gaping hole in his side, not to mention his broken and as-yet unbound leg. Once the initial shock wore off, though, the boy collapsed and fell back into unconsciousness, breathing heavily and occasionally whimpering. 

Bulma returned, medical supplies in hand, looking shaken after listening to her young friend's screaming. As she placed the items on the table next to the wounded chibi and went to fill a bowl of water in the sink, Radditz settled onto the couch and watched, knowing that he would be of no use at this point since he had no nursing skills whatsoever. Grabbing a clean rag from the pile of supplies, Bulma began to wipe away the blood and mud, explaining the uses of the various creams, cleansers, and antibiotics she had brought. She bit her lip as she came across the hole in Goku's side, feeling tears pricking at the corners of her eyes in sympathetic pain. "What happened?" she asked, momentarily looking away from her work in order to catch Bardock's black eyes with her own. 

"A tree limb fell on him," he explained, shaking his head slightly before hunching over Goku's leg again. Using a pair of tweezers, he deftly removed another bone shard and laid it to one side in a small pile of debris that had been pulled from the injury. "I didn't get to him until after it had happened, so I don't know any more than that." Satisfied that he had removed any and all foreign objects and bone slivers from his son's leg, he set aside the tweezers and grabbed a bottle of alcohol from the kit. Figuring the best thing to do was to thoroughly douse the wound, he opened the bottle and upended half the contents onto the raw, broken flesh, eliciting another whimper from the sleeping Goku. He once again examined the leg, then nodded to himself. He had done the best he could do with the materials provided, so all that was left was splinting and binding the injured leg. Fortunately, the first aid kit happened to have a splint that would work for Goku's little leg. 

Once he had finished wrapping and splinting the leg, Bardock glanced over at Bulma's progress and found that she was nearly done placing the bandages over both the entrance and exit wounds caused by the splintered branch. He nodded his approval and set about wiping down the rest of his son's body, cleaning minor scratches and generally removing the dirt, twigs, and leaves from his skin. By the time he had finished this task, Bulma had completed her work as well and was now sitting back in a chair, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. The Saiya-jin caught her attention and gave her a grateful look before he gathered his naked son into his arms. 

"I'm going to take him to his room," he said. Goku would need to be kept warm, and he would probably end up sleeping for several days before he was recovered to any real extent of the word. 

"I'll clean up here," Bulma offered, gesturing to indicate the entire room. "So you can stay with him." 

Giving the girl a fleeting smile, Bardock turned and left the room. Walking down the halls, he suddenly wondered where the other three boys were. He had thought Goku's screams had been loud enough to wake the dead, let alone the living! _Maybe the walls of this building are soundproofed..._ He shook his head, knowing he would find no answers this night. Right now, he needed to get his son into a bed, and then get some sleep himself. There would be time enough for curiosity when morning came. 

Walking into a vacant bedroom, he laid his sleeping son on the bed and pulled the covers over his small, bare body. A tiny smile crept across his face, sighing with relief now that the crisis was over, and he ruffled the child's hair affectionately, careful not to wake him. He collapsed into a chair next to the bed and watched the steady rise and fall of the chibi Saiyan's chest until an exhausted sleep overtook him. 

~*~ 

*pokes her head out of her hiding place* *glances around fearfully* Whew... I think I lost them... *heaves a sigh of relief* *smiles at the audience* Okay, I'm done being evil for now! You can all put away your pitchforks and torches! *feigns a hurt look* You actually thought I'd kill poor chibi Goku? I'd _never_ do something like that!! 

Bardock: *clears his throat significantly* Don't lie to them, Brenda! I overheard you talking to your beta readers, telling them how you _were_ going to kill Goku until you changed your mind from _laziness_. 

Brenda: Eeeep! *jumps out of her skin* How'd you get there?! *recovers her composure* So I didn't want to deal with the complications of having to revive Goku with the wish and getting the kids back to the future some other way. What's your point? 

Bardock: *shrugs and folds his arms* The point is that you _are_ evil enough to consider killing my son. *glares at Brenda* 

Brenda: *chuckles weakly* Eh heh... But I didn't! And that's what's important, right?! 

Bardock: *smirks* I suppose so. After all, if you _had_ killed Goku... *trails off and leaves the rest to Brenda's imagination* 

Brenda: *pales* Err... *gulps* Moot point, ne? He's not dead, so let's just get on with begging the readers to review! *flashes Bardock a shaky grin* 

I worked even harder on this chapter than the preceding two. Please review and tell me what you think! ^_^ 

(A/N: Several people have asked why I chose Pilaf as the villain. Pilaf was _not_ my first choice - Piccolo was - but I don't know enough about any of the other _likely_ - key word there! - villains to be able to accurately portray them. If I knew DB Piccolo's character better (he's different in DB than DBZ), I would have used him. As for the Red Ribbon Army, again, I don't know enough about it to do a good job, nor do I wish to write another twenty chapters just to eradicate it. And I will not use unlikely villains such as Cell or the androids - they don't appear for _years_, if they ever appear in this timeline - or Majin Buu, or Janemba, or Bebi, or Ii Shenlong, or Zarbon, or Kooler, or Bojack, or Slug, or Brolly, or the plethora of other villains out there. I will not make some convoluted reason to bring some minor villain or other out of the boondocks simply to provide a villain for this story. Pilaf is likely, I _know_ Pilaf's character, and it isn't difficult to think up a good, plausible excuse for him to be in the story. So don't bug me about my choice of villains, okay? I am _not_ changing my mind.) 


	41. Pink Shirt

*smiles secretively to herself* I bet no one caught the significance of the tree. And, ChibiCasey, Frozenflower, you two don't count! I already told you, so don't tell anyone! *grins* I admit, it was subtle, but I did drop a clue or two. I'll wait a chapter to see if anyone can figure it out, then maybe I'll tell you all. 

*lifts an eyebrow* I didn't realize I was leading you all to believe that Goten and Trunks (and perhaps Vegeta) had gone off somewhere. I was just trying to explain why they didn't show up when Goku screamed. *scratches the back of her head sheepishly* I was just too lazy to bring them in right then and have all the added character interaction that would create. 

Disclaimer: *stands on a soap box on the corner of the street* Hear ye, hear ye! I don't own DBZ! Hey, that rhymed! Wow! I'm a poet! *dances around giddily* 

Trunks: Brenda, get down from there before you make a fool out of yourself! 

Gohan: Uhh.. Trunks? *sweatdrops* Too late... 

Brenda: *giggles insanely* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Pink Shirt) 

The morning sun had already risen halfway through the sky, burning away the last vestiges of the clouds that remained after the storm of the previous night, before Bardock began to stir. Not that he was ready to be awake, of course, but the brilliant sunshine that filtered in through the room's sole window fell directly on his face, convincing him that if he wanted to sleep any longer, he would have to move to another location or suffer the consequences. He cracked his eyes open just wide enough to survey the room in search of a shadier location where he could still keep an eye on his sleeping son and was surprised to find that he was not alone. 

Standing next to the bed was the young prince Vegeta, sunlight glinting off his flame-shaped black hair, giving him faint brown highlights. Vegeta apparently was not aware that Bardock was awake, as all he did was stare at the sleeping Goku with an odd expression on his face. Feigning unconsciousness, Bardock frowned internally, trying to interpret what he was seeing on the ten year old boy's face. It certainly wasn't what he was expecting from the arrogant, insensitive brat who had broken Goku's heart the night before with his callousness, nor was it something he would have matched with the mischievous boy who had helped Goten and Trunks play pranks on him during the trip to Earth. In fact, it would have been out of place even for the child who had run away, however temporarily, from the kingship of his people. 

Was it... remorse? Regret? 

..... concern? 

If Bardock had previously had any thoughts of anger towards the prince because of his behavior last night, the look on Vegeta's face caused him to forget them. Instead, all he felt was an itching curiosity to know _why_ Vegeta had that look on his face. Opening his eyes completely, he asked in a carefully neutral voice, "Vegeta?" 

Vegeta nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise, whirling around to face the older Saiyan as though he'd been caught in the act of doing something unforgivable. His face became a blank mask, all trace of his earlier emotions completely wiped off as though they had never been, and he glared almost threateningly at Bardock, silently daring him to say something about what he had just witnessed. "What?" he growled angrily. 

Their gazes locked, each searching the other's eyes for some hint of what the other was thinking, and Bardock took a deep breath before asking, point blank, "What are you doing here, Vegeta?" 

The prince's shoulder's stiffened at the question and the older warrior could tell from the way that Vegeta's jaw muscles clenched that he was undergoing some internal conflict of some kind. Breaking eye contact, Vegeta stared moodily at some point beyond Bardock's shoulder. "As the Prince of all Saiyans, it is my job to be aware of the condition of my subjects," he responded woodenly, jutting his chin out defiantly. "I was merely examining your baka son to see if he would be a hindrance in completing this silly quest." Their eyes met again, and Bardock was surprised to find that he didn't believe a word of what Vegeta had said. 

"Why did you tell him the truth about his grandfather's death?" Bardock asked softly, his eyes narrowing slightly. A spark of anger rekindled itself in his heart as he remembered just how insensitive and cruel the boy before him had been the night before, as well as all the trouble and pain his words had caused. His son had nearly _died_ last night, and all because of this Saiya-jin boy who stood before him. 

The strange look Bardock had noted earlier flickered momentarily in Vegeta's eyes before quickly being squashed. What _was_ it? Shame? Sorrow? Surely not... Vegeta snapped his head to one side, glaring down at Goku as he tried to sort through his mind to come up with the answer to Bardock's question without meeting the other Saiyan's soul-searching gaze. "We all do things we shouldn't," he said at last, a cryptic tone to his words. "And it is up to us to take responsibility for what we have done." With that, the ten year old Saiya-jin no Ouji padded out of the room, not looking back at either of the two occupants. 

Bardock stared at the boy's receding form, a thoughtful and somewhat surprised look on his face. Surprise because of the remarkable insight Vegeta had shown for his age. Thoughtfulness because... 

_Who was Vegeta really talking about?_

~*~ 

Bardock was still deep in thought, trying to unravel the mystery of Vegeta's words, when Bulma, Goten, and Trunks walked into the room. Looking up from his contemplation, the warrior watched as Goten and Trunks levitated up far enough to get a clear look at Goku, grateful that the blanket covering Goku was thick and dark enough to hide the blood that had no doubt soaked through his son's bandages and probably into the sheets. The two boys didn't need to be any more alarmed than they no doubt already were. Bulma smiled and brushed a lock of the chibi Saiyan's hair out of his face, then looked back up at Bardock. 

"How is he?" the human girl asked. 

On cue, Goten chirped, "Is he gonna be okay, grandpa?" Trunks didn't say anything, but he also gave the older warrior a worried look. 

"He'll be ok," Bardock assured them as he stood up, stretching muscles that had cramped up from a night of sleeping in a chair. In doing so, he noticed that the pink shirt he was still wearing had stiffened from dried mud and blood, as had his tattered black pants. He frowned down at his clothing. "I really need to get some new clothes," he muttered to himself as he pulled the soiled shirt off, not really aware he was speaking out loud. 

Bulma's eyes lit up at these words and she began to stare at Bardock critically as though she were measuring him in her mind. "Clothes, huh?" she said, a broad grin spreading across her face. "Well, I happen to know for a fact that there's a city nearby, Orange Star City, to be precise, and they have _loads_ of malls and department stores. It'd be no problem at all to find some new clothes for you! And since I just happen to be the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, money won't be a problem for you either. Since you're not exactly from Earth, I seriously doubt you have any of the local currency on you. Here, give me that," she said, snatching the once-pink shirt from his hands. "I'll need this so I can get an idea of what size you are. After, of course," she added, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "I get this cleaned. It's absolutely filthy! So are you, for that matter. You really should take a bath!" 

Off to the side, Trunks began to snigger as he watched his mom enter into her bossy mode, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the poor Saiyan man who had no idea what he was about to get himself into. No matter what age she was, it looked like the blue haired scientist took delight in ruling the lives of males of all species. It was all the lilac haired boy could do to keep from rolling on the floor laughing as Bulma grabbed Bardock's hand and dragged him off to the bathroom, assuring him that she, Trunks, and Goten would keep an eye on Goku while he cleaned up. Meanwhile, she would do what she could to salvage his clothing so that he would be as presentable as possible when they went shopping in Orange Star City. Admittedly, that probably wouldn't be up to Bulma's standards, but Bardock couldn't help the fact that he had only one set of clothing. Well, she would soon remedy _that_ little detail! 

"You know," she said thoughtfully to herself as she took Bardock's shirt and pants off to the laundry machine. "I've noticed that Radditz doesn't have any other clothes, too. Hmmm...." With a cheerful smile on her face, the human girl tossed the clothes into a washer and added some soap that had been designed by a branch of Capsule Corp. specifically to deal with stains of all kinds. It was something she never left home without because she never knew when she might need to salvage a particular outfit at any given time. "I guess that means I'll have to take him shopping with Bardock and me!" Giving a delighted laugh, Bulma sauntered off to find her crush and inform him of his impending journey. 

~*~ 

"Hey, Trunks?" Goten hopped up into the chair that his grandfather had just vacated, swinging his legs over the edge as he looked at his best friend. He self consciously tugged at the orange gi his chibi father had given him, something that had become a permanent trade after the first day. Thinking of Goku, Goten glanced back at the sleeping boy in concern. 

"Yeah, Goten?" Trunks was sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed, his chin resting in the palm of one hand as he, too, stared at the seven year old. Goku slept on, oblivious to the conversations that had been going on in the same room all morning. He didn't appear to be in any pain, but Goten's sensitive ears picked up a faint whimper every now and again, especially audible now that there was less noise being made. 

"I'm worried," the spiky black haired chibi stated. "About Goku, I mean." For some reason, it seemed awkward to call Goku 'dad' when he was even younger than Goten was. "I asked Bulma how bad he got hurt, an' she wouldn't say. Whenever someone doesn't want to tell us bad new, they always try to hide it." 

"I know what you mean," the purple haired boy snorted. "They say it's because they 'don't want to scare us', but they don't seem to realize that not knowing is worse than knowing. Imagination makes things ten times worse." With a sigh, the older demi-Saiyan moved his chin to rest on his other hand. 

"Trunks, what if Goku's dying?!" Goten asked in sudden alarm. "What if there's something really wrong with him an' that's why Bulma wouldn't tell us what happened?!" Leaping to his feet in an agitated manner, the boy floated over to peer at the unconscious occupant of the bed in search of any sign that his guess might be accurate. Before Trunks could protest, Goten had pulled back the sheets and quilt covering his look-alike to completely reveal Goku's unclothed form. 

Both boys gasped in shock as they took in the bloodstained condition of the sheets and bandages. Tears pricked at the corners of Goten's eyes which he furiously scrubbed away with the back of his hand as he knelt down on top of the bed next to his father's past self. "Trunks, I was right! He's bleeding and he's gonna die! I don't want him to die, Trunks!" Goten pulled his wounded friend into a protective hug and cried, nearly hysterical with grief at the thought of losing Goku. 

Realizing that his friend might be right, Trunks gnawed his lower lip worriedly. "If only we had a senzu bean," he muttered, fingering the interior of his pockets where he had once had two of the precious beans. Unfortunately, both beans had been used long ago, one to save Bardock's life, and one to heal Goten after his fight with King Cold. Then it dawned on him. "That's it, Goten! We can go to Karin's tower and get some more senzu beans. Then Goku won't die after all!" Suddenly, his stomach started grumbling loudly, and he added sheepishly, "But let's wait until _after_ breakfast, okay?" 

Goten brightened at the prospect of being able to do something to save Goku's life. His own belly grumbled a complaint and he nodded in agreement with Trunks's plan. "Right! After breakfast, we can go get some senzu beans!" 

Together, the two boys raced out of the room, leaving Goku alone. In their excitement, the two had accidentally forgotten to pull the covers back up over the naked, injured child and Goku shivered, though he did not wake up. 

~*~ 

By the time Goten and Trunks got to the kitchen, Bulma, Radditz, Vegeta, and Bardock were all seated around the table, finishing up their meal at their own respective paces. Bardock grinned at their plaintive faces and tossed a food capsule to the older of the two boys. Catching it easily, Trunks quickly popped it open and he and his black haired counterpart eagerly attacked the meal. 

"Bulma, Radditz, and I are going to go to a city to get some clothes," Bardock said. Indicating his freshly washed but still tattered clothing, he added, "It'd be nice to have something besides this pink shirt of yours, Trunks." An amused smile crossed his face as he saw Vegeta's disgusted look at the mention of the shirt. After all, the shirt actually belonged to his future self, much to his chagrin. 

"You know, funny thing about that shirt," Bulma commented as she rooted through her purse, making sure she had everything she'd need for the shopping trip. "I think my dad has one just like it in his closet. Identical, right down the the BADMAN on the back. I always loved that shirt. Too bad he never wears it anymore. Maybe he'll give it to me, and when I have a husband, he can wear it..." A small smile played on Bulma's lips as she envisioned Radditz in the pink BADMAN shirt. _He'd look really cute in that shirt!_

Hearing Bulma talk about the pink shirt, Bardock glanced at her nervously to see if she had realized that the shirts weren't just identical, they were _the same_. That is, if he was correct in his assumption that Bulma and Vegeta were the eventual parents of Trunks, which he didn't doubt for a minute that he was. Too many coincidences and too many similarities pointed accusing fingers that all agreed with the idea, however odd and disturbing it might be, that the human girl and the prince of the Saiyan race would one day become close enough to each other to at least have a child. Bardock noticed that Trunks and Vegeta were also trying not to react to Bulma's words about the infamous pink shirt. 

Vegeta suddenly frowned as he noticed the odd coincidence of Bulma owning a shirt exactly like the one his future mate was supposed to own, but the ten year old's mind never even came close to considering the true connotations that Bulma owning a pink BADMAN shirt might imply. It was never a possiblity in the Saiya-jin no Ouji's mind that this might be more than mere coincidence. After all, if he acknowledged that it might not be coincidence, he'd have to deal with the idea of mating with the blue haired witch. _That_ was simply an impossibility. 

With a hastily suppressed chuckle, Bardock turned back to Goten and Trunks. "Anyway, we'll be leaving you two and Vegeta here to look after Goku while we're gone." _Meaning, we're leaving you two to look after both Vegeta and Goku._ "If anything goes wrong, flare your ki to battle levels and we'll come back as quickly as we can." 

Both boys nodded their comprehension of the instructions, though they had only listened with half an ear, their minds concentrating on their own little errand. "Good luck!" Trunks cheerfully wished the two Saiyans as they rose into the air after Bulma's car. He smirked. "You'll need it." Oh, yes, would they need it. Shopping with Bulma was not a task to be undertaken lightly under any circumstances. Something that Goten and Trunks had conveniently forgotten to mention to either Bardock or Radditz before they left. 

As soon as the trio was out of sight, Goten and Trunks grabbed a Dragon Radar - hey, they never knew if there would be a dragonball on the way! - and blasted off into the sky at top speed, completely forgetting that they were leaving Vegeta to watch over Goku on his own. 

~*~ 

Orange Star City is the city that gets renamed Satan City. No! Don't _anyone_ suggest that I bring in chibi Hercule! Whether or not I bring that *mutters something inappropriate here* guy in is entirely up to me and may not happen at all. 

Michael Moeck- Vegeta is a _very_ complex character. I'm glad someone noticed that I've been trying to portray the different facets of his personality. ^_^ As for what I intend to do with him... mostly what I'm doing is setting the stage for the Bulma and Vegeta sequel I may one day write. I won't know exactly what I'm going to do with Vegeta until I actually write it. ^_^ 

Chris Marker- Yeah, sure, I could make a new villain, but I am a _lazy_ author. Making good, original characters, good or evil, is really hard. Notice I have a total of _three_ original characters in this story (if you include Sereri) and they're all (so far) minor ones. It's much easier to use a character that's already there than to make up a new one. *grins the famous Son Grin (TM)* 

*glances around in surprise* Y'know, it's been a long, _long_ time since someone asked to be added to my mailing list... Wonder if that's because people have just forgotten I had one (or didn't realize in the first place) or if I already have everyone on my list who's interested. *shrugs her shoulders* Oh, well, if there's anyone else out there who wants to be on the list, either e-mail me and say so, or leave your e-mail in a review (and SAY you want to be added). Unless you do BOTH, I will not add you to the list. 

I need help! I'm having Goten and Trunks travel to Karin's tower, but I don't know what happened the first time anyone in the DB series went to that place! So far, all I've got is Goku having to climb the stairs of Karin's tower, then getting senzu beans from the mind reading cat who helps watch over the Earth. Yajirobe also lives with him, or will someday live with him. *sweatdrops* Obviously, my knowledge is lacking. Anything you guys can add would be greatly appreciated! Otherwise, we're gonna have one out of character visit to the tower! Same goes with Kami! I know nothing of how Kami originally interacts with characters from the original DB timeline. Please help! I don't wanna have to spend countless hours researching this stuff on the Net! 

With that said, please review! ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Normal Friends From Strange Places" by Maria Cline, story id 740820, is a story about the friendship that forms between Gohan and Trey, the previously unknown son of Tien and Lunch, as they both go to Orange Star High. It's the story of Gohan's high school life, but with a fresh perspective because of the added factor of someone that Gohan doesn't have to hide his true self from. And... Bardock's in it. *big grin* Really, _really_ good story! Go read it! 


	42. Interlude

Ossu! I know, this chapter was late coming out, but I had good reasons! I spent the first two days doing research on such characters as Karin and Kami (among others) so that I could better determine how (or if) I should insert them into my story. 

Bardock: *snorts* Yeah, right, Brenda. That's just a fancy way of saying you were reading the Dragonball manga! 

Brenda: Well, it's still research! The best place to get information is straight from the source! So there. Speaking of which, thank you, Keios Thiori, for that wonderful link! Thanks to you, I finally realize just how pathetic my knowledge of Dragonball really was. *grins* Anyway, the other two days of absence were used surpassing writer's block and then actually writing the chapter. 

Congrats to Alita, reviewer number 900! Wow, 900 reviews already? Whew, I'm beginning to feel reviews = pressure. *grins sheepishly* Not that that's a BAD thing, mind you. I _love_ all those reviews. ^_^ Thank you, everyone! 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, but I just bought History of Trunks on DVD! Woo hoo! Oh, man, Trunks has the _best_ scream! 

Trunks: What?! You like my _scream_?! What kind of weirdo are you? 

Brenda: Hey, it takes _talent_ to be able to give a truly heart wrenching scream. That's one thing I think the English dub has over the Japanese version. My favorite characters (Gohan and Trunks) know how to scream. ^_^ 

Gohan: *mumbles* She sure picks some odd things to admire... *sweatdrops* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Interlude) 

At first, Vegeta was not aware that he had been left on his own inside the capsule house. He had not felt it worth his time to see the trio of shoppers off, so he had remained within the building, sprawled out on the couch as he thought about what he would do while the others were gone. Maybe he could convince his future son to spar with him, perhaps teach him new techniques. After all, Trunks was probably the strongest, so if he, Vegeta, wanted to become the strongest fighter in the universe, what better way than to have the purple haired demi-Saiyan train him? The only problem that he could see was that Trunks might still be angry with him for the incident last night. _But since no permanent harm was done to Kakarot, and I didn't actually do anything to the girl, Trunks won't stay mad at me for long._ In his mind, Goku would always be Kakarot, no matter what his friends and family called him, because he was a Saiya-jin and Kakarot was his Saiya-jin name. Even though Goku was only a pathetic low class child, he was still Saiyan, and as such deserved better than to be called by an alien name. _Ah, well, nothing to do but wait and see._

And so Vegeta waited for Trunks and Goten to come back inside. 

And waited. 

And waited. 

With a growl of impatience, the ten year old Saiyan jumped up off the couch and stormed outside to see what the hell was taking those two so long. He stalked through the door and opened his mouth to shout something, but shut it again when he realized there was no one in sight. _Huh? Where did they go?_ Tentatively reaching out with his ki senses, he searched for the two younger boys in an ever broadening area centering on the capsule house. _That's odd. I can't find them. They're either hiding their power, or they're far enough away that they're not in my range._ Giving one last attempt to locate either of the two boys from the future, Vegeta stretched his senses as far as they would go until he began to sweat from the strain. His efforts paid off when he felt a familiar flicker of ki just at the edge of his range that seemed to be remaining stationary for now. After a minute, the flicker disappeared as Trunks, for that was who the ki signature belonged to, moved again, too far for Vegeta to track. 

"Kuso!" Vegeta swore with feeling. "Those two brats have left me here alone! They didn't even tell me they were going somewhere, much less where!" His face darkening in anger, the young prince stalked back inside the house, furious at being ignored or forgotten. Not knowing what exactly to do with himself, he stomped around the house aimlessly, until he passed by the room where Goku was sleeping. For lack of something better to do, he walked in and glowered down at the bloody child. "And I suppose they're expecting _me_ to look after you," he growled in annoyance. "Me, the Prince of all Saiyans, playing nursemaid to a third-class baka!" Someone had failed to pull the covers back up over the boy's injured form, but he callously chose to ignore that, since it wasn't _his_ doing, and since it would only be encouraging weakness in Goku. _If Kakarot can't handle a little cold, he is no Saiya-jin!_

Despite how much he protested the fact that he had been left in charge of Goku's care, Vegeta sat down in the chair and glared at the sleeping boy. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he felt the need to rant at _someone_ and Goku was the only one present, even if he was unconscious. "Look at you! It's disgusting that even a third-class like you could be injured by a falling tree branch! What were you doing, suppressing your ki to the point that you had no defenses left? Idiot!" Sighing moodily, he quit talking for a long time, simply raking his eyes over Goku's battered body critically, noting every scratch and bruise, every drop of blood on his pale skin, every ounce of muscle and baby fat. After a while, he spoke up again, most of the ire drained from his voice, replaced instead by an odd emotion even he couldn't identify. "For a seven year old third-class who's been raised by a bunch of pathetic weaklings, you really haven't done that badly. You and your brother weren't aware of it, but I watched your little spar. You're both so far below me it's ridiculous, but if you think of it in terms of the classes, your brother could almost qualify to be a first class soldier, and you... given proper training and time, you could be rather strong yourself. Perhaps even a worthy sparring partner." Allowing his mind to travel to that theoretical future, the prince smirked contemptuously and stood up. "Except for the fact that you obviously have brain damage. No matter how strong you ever become, your spirit is too weak to be Saiya-jin." 

Vegeta stepped towards the bed and stared down at the chibi who continued to be oblivious to his prince's presence. "Of course, you'll never be able to beat me. I am, after all, the Saiya-jin no Ouji," he said softly, noting how Goku was shivering in his sleep - from cold or blood loss, Vegeta couldn't tell. "But I am curious to see how far you could go if you had someone to teach you. Perhaps I will take you back with me to Vegeta-sei and give you over to one of the royal trainers. Who knows? Maybe they could even awaken some of your Saiya-jin instinct, make you a warrior I'd be proud to have at my side." 

The vague, unknown feeling returned and the ten year old suddenly found himself reaching out to tug the covers back up over Goku's naked body. He told himself it was because he didn't want to deal with accusations from his future son or the irritating voice of the onna should they decide that he had purposefully neglected the brat. Pulling his hands back to his sides, his face became unreadable. "And if you ever tell a single soul a word I have said," he added menacingly, even though he knew Goku had been completely unconscious the entire time, "I will make you wish that you had never been born." 

Despite how much time had passed during his monologue, neither Goten and Trunks nor Bardock, Radditz, and Bulma had returned. Grumbling his displeasure at his continued baby-sitting, Vegeta sat back down into the chair and prepared himself for what looked to be a long wait. 

~*~ 

"Goten! Hurry it up already!" Trunks shouted angrily at his friend. "We don't have all day!" 

"I'm sorry, Trunks, I'm going as fast as I can!" Goten whined from his position in front of a cliff. A continuous tinkling sound filled the air as a stream of sparkling water flew over the edge of the ravine. Curious as to what was making the noise, a squirrel who made its home in a hole in the side of the cliff poked its head out, just in time to be hit head on by the thin stream of steaming liquid. The hapless squirrel chattered furiously at the offending fluid, dashing back into its protective hole where it could wash its fur and rid itself of the pungent substance that had drenched it. 

"Geeze, Goten, how much did you drink, anyway?" The lavender haired demi-Saiyan glared in disgust as his black haired friend finally pulled his orange pants back up and tied the belt that kept them up. 

"It was only a couple of gallons!" Goten protested as he floated back into the air, his tail waving lazily behind him. 

Lifting himself up into the air after his friend, Trunks shook his head and powered up to go faster. "'Only a couple of gallons!'" he mimicked, a drop of sweat rolling down the back of his head. "Good grief. Anyway, we need to get to Karin's Tower fast so we can get those senzu beans, then get back before your grandpa and uncle get back with my mom." 

"That should be easy," Goten giggled, matching his friend's speed. "You of all people should know how long it takes your mom to shop, Trunks!" 

Trunks grinned maliciously as he thought about the torture the two Saiyans had to be going through as they traveled the perilous war zone known as the mall. He supposed he should have warned them about Bulma, but he doubted they would have understood until they'd experienced shopping with the girl themselves. Besides, the explanation would also have taken way too long and delayed the trip to Karin's Tower, which would leave Goku suffering longer than he needed to. 

~*~ 

As Bardock's feet touched down in the parking area of the shopping complex, he was greeted by shocked and disbelieving stares from everyone within the vicinity. Frowning, he glanced down at his clothing. He hadn't thought it was in _that_ bad a condition. Radditz, too, suffered the open-mouthed attentions of the humans, which was odd because his clothing wasn't even as tattered as his father's. Scratching the back of his head in confusion, the older Saiyan turned to Bulma, who was just now capsulizing her car and popping it back into her pocket. 

"Bulma, why the hell is everyone staring at us?" he asked as they headed towards the large building, trying not to sound too irritated. He never did like being the center of attention, and now was no exception. 

"Gee, I don't know," the girl muttered as she wove her way through the crowds of shoppers. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that most people on this planet can't fly." Upon reaching the large set of open doors, Bulma darted inside the building and immediately headed off to the left where the number of people was marginally fewer. "You two better stick close to me," she cautioned the two. "It'd be pretty easy to lose each other in this crowd, and I don't want to spend valuable shopping time looking for either of you." 

There was no need for her to say it twice. Both Saiya-jin tried to keep one eye on their guide and one eye on the people around them, tense and edgy due to such close proximity with so many beings. Bardock uncomfortably noted that the only times he had ever been in areas as crowded as this were on certain planet clearing missions, and on those occasions close quarters with a bunch of aliens wasn't a problem for long. Large blasts of ki that incinerated dozens of people in one shot tended to make for plenty of room to walk in. Unfortunately, since those were the only times he had been surrounded like this, he was instinctively on the defense, constantly watching for an attack to come from any angle. Needless to say, the warrior was beginning to feel that what he had thought to be a relatively simple errand was going to turn into a harrowing experience. 

Radditz was having just as hard a time as Bardock in maintaining his composure. Although he was younger and had had fewer experiences with planet clearing, he, too, was unused to crowds on this magnitude. On an intellectual level, he knew that no one here cold possibly pose a threat to him or his father, but on an instinctive level, it felt like he was surrounded by enemies. Every time he was jostled, his body cried out to retaliate, to protect himself from harm. For once, he didn't mind being in the human female's presence, as her whole aura exuded confidence and familiarity with the situation. None of the hundreds of people passing by seemed to bother her in the slightest, and she remained completely unfazed by the thousands of sights, scents, and sounds that were confounding his acute Saiyan senses. For that, Radditz almost envied her. 

His gratitude for her presence was short lived, vanishing like a pricked bubble as soon as the girl led them into the first store. A women's lingerie store. "What the hell are we going here?!" he demanded in mortified outrage as his eyes took in the room full of lace, straps, frills, silk, satin, and seemingly endless supply of clothing of the most revealing nature possible. All meant for females. 

"Oh, well, I figured while we're shopping, I might as well pick up some things for myself!" Bulma said, dismissing the whole situation brightly. "You two can wait right here and look around while I try some of these things on!" With that, she abandoned the two males, snatching a night gown off a rack and heading towards the fitting room. Bardock and Radditz exchanged dismayed looks, suddenly _very _aware of the suspicious looks they were receiving from the female shoppers and sales clerks. They were, after all, the only two males present in an extremely female-oriented store. 

~*~ 

Once again, I disclaim any and all possible inferences to yaoi! This is not a yaoi fic, nor do I intend to imply that there will be yaoi in the future! 

This chapter was something of a filler, although I did use it to do some more Vegeta characterization. *gives the audience a big, evil grin* The next chapter is going to be so much fun to write! I already have the outline made, too! *rubs her hands enthusiastically* 

Okay, I've said this before (see chapter 9, Wishful Thinking, for details), but please do NOT complain about chapter length. I won't repeat what my reasons (I already posted them in the Ch. 9 Author Notes) because none of you want to hear them all over again, but chapter length is NOT something any of you can affect by complaining. The only thing it accomplishes is getting on my nerves. Just don't do it. 

You all want to know what the significance of the tree was? It represented Bardock's family. Three lobes and a fourth one broken. Bardock, Radditz, Goku, and Goten, with Goku separated from the others, seriously injured. Subtle, but I was proud of it. ^_^ 

Please review! 


	43. Mall Misery

*chuckles in amusement as she thinks on something Frozenflower said* *picks up her pen and starts writing* 

_And through a stroke of luck, they managed to find all of the other dragonballs all at once. Pilaf, when faced with a decision between his life or handing over the dragonball he'd found, relinquished the orange sphere and promised never to try to take over the world again. Summoning the Eternal Dragon, they wished that Goten and Trunks be returned to their own time. Then they all lived happily ever after. The End._

Hehehe.... wouldn't it be just _mean_ to do that? And if I did, you could all thank Frozenflower for giving me the idea. *cackles* But, no, I'm not that evil. Still plenty more left to go in this story. ^_^ Oh, and ignore _everything_ in that piece I just wrote. None of it will happen like that, I promise! Absolutely no spoilers there. Hee hee. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: EEEEEEK!!! It's a dung beetle! And it's sleeping! It's a... *pauses dramatically* *sniggers in a way that sounds eerily like King Kai* DBZ!!! Get it? Dung Beetle Zzzz?! Hahahahaha!!! *rolls on the floor laughing her head off* 

King Kai: Oooo!!! Good one! Good one! Oh, I'm so jealous! Why didn't I think of that?! Just wait till I tell Kaioshin! Nyahahahaha!!! *chortles with glee* 

Brenda: *grins broadly* I own DBZ, not DBZ. Hee hee, get it? I own the Dung Beetle Zzzz joke, not Dragonball Z. *snickers and promptly begins to laugh again* 

King Kai: Hahahahaha!!! That was great! You have such a great sense of humor! I'm so jealous! 

A/N: I'm _not_ gay-bashing in this chapter. The views expressed in this chapter that might sound like gay-bashing are completely the thoughts of their respective characters. Meant for humor, not offense, so no flames, please. I personally have nothing against homosexuality, so I apologize if any of my previous author notes have implied that. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Mall Misery) 

After thirty minutes of watching Bulma enter and exit the changing room, each time carrying a different article of clothing, Bardock and Radditz began to grow bored. While Radditz was seated near the waiting room, trying desperately not to look anywhere except the floor, Bardock had begun to let his curiosity get the better of him. A smile of amusement slipped across his face as he picked up a nylon stocking from a pile and started to play around with it. 

"Hey, Radditz, what do you suppose they use these for?" he asked, holding up a fist that he had shoved inside one leg of the nylons. His son glanced up long enough to see what Bardock was talking about and frowned in puzzlement. 

"I really have no clue. Gloves of some kind, maybe?" Standing up, the fifteen year old boy lifted the other half of the thing and peered at it closely. He gave an experimental stretch, then shrugged and let it drop. "I'd hate to wear gloves like that. They look like they constrict movement and press too closely to the skin." 

A mother and her daughter passed them by and the little girl looked up at her mother in confusion. "Mommy, why are those two men playing with pantyhose?" 

"Never mind, honey," the woman said firmly, pulling her child by the arm to the other side of the store. "Some people are just plain sick." 

Not noticing the exchange, Bardock nodded his agreement with Radditz's assessment and pulled the nylon stocking off his hand, dropping it casually back into the pile of its mates. Spotting a pair of particularly frilly panties, he grinned and plucked it off its rack. "Call me crazy, but who in their right mind would actually wear these? The amount of lace on this thing would surely get in the way of wearing anything else! It can't be very comfortable, either." He handed the underwear to Radditz, who snorted his amusement as he turned the garment over in his hands. 

While they were examining the panties, a woman passed by and saw what they were holding. "Perverts!" she hissed venomously at them, glaring heatedly as she stalked past them. Both Saiyans jumped a little and flushed slightly with embarrassment. They stared at the woman's receding back for a moment, then Radditz hung the panties back on their rack. Feeling a little bolder, he looked around curiously until his eyes came across the nightwear section. He pointed at one of the negligees, smirking. 

"Wouldn't it almost be better to wear nothing at all? It's not like that thing hides anything!" he chortled, shaking his head with mirth. 

"Can I help you two... um... gentlemen?" a sales lady asked as politely as she could, schooling her face to a neutral blankness that showed nothing of her true feelings. Still, it was hard, since she was relatively new to this job and hadn't ever had to deal with _male_ customers before. 

"Huh?" Bardock blinked in confusion. "Gentle... men?" _That's a new one. I've never been called _gentle_ before._ He looked around to make sure there wasn't someone else that the woman might be talking to, but found that he and his son were still the only males in the store. Scratching the back of his head in confusion, he met the eyes of the clerk and asked, "Are you talking to us?" 

Thinking that he was emphasizing the 'men' part of the phrase, the clerk inwardly groaned, completely disgusted. _Just my luck. I get stuck with a couple of girly men who want to play dress up._ She smiled an oily smile at the two men in front of her. Money was money, and she wasn't going to turn down the opportunity of a sale, no matter what she felt. Best to avoid gender terms if at all possible. "...err... I said, is there anything I can help you with?" Her voice was honey sweet. The epitome of polite correctness. 

"Umm... what do you mean?" Bardock replied in confusion, scratching the back of his head as he tried to puzzle how just why this person thought he and his son might need help. 

Inwardly sighing, the sales clerk resigned herself to her fate. It was, after all, her job to make the customer feel welcome and wanted, and to try to get them to buy things, no matter how she personally felt. "Well, I can point out where various things are kept, and I could give good advice about what colors, cuts, materials, and so forth go with your complexion. That nightie right there, for instance, would look just lovely on you." She pointed at the negliee the two men had been discussing earlier, unaware of exactly what they'd been saying about it. She thought it might be the kind of thing a gay man might like, but she couldn't really be certain. The mental image of either one of these guys wearing it made her mentally cringe. 

Radditz, too, began to visualize his father wearing the skimpy outfit, and the mental image he formed made him promptly burst out laughing. The confusion Bardock felt wore off as he realized that the woman thought he wanted help shopping. _And she actually thinks I'd _wear_ any of this stuff?_ he thought incredulously. _I thought this was only for girls! Apparently, Earth styles are far more different than I imagined!_

"Errr... actually, we're just waiting for someone," Bardock replied warily, not wanting to continue on the topic of what things he'd look 'good' in. On cue, Bulma stepped out of the changing room, a nightgown and a few other articles of clothing draped over her arm. "Are you done yet, Bulma?" he asked hopefully. 

Bulma flashed him a sparkling smile, giving him a thumbs up as she walked off in the direction of the cashier. "Yup! Sure am! Wow, I don't think I've ever found such great stuff in so short a time!" A chill crept up the two warriors' spines at these words as Bulma laid her purchases on the counter and waited for the sales attendant to total the prices. _Short? That was a _short_ amount of time?_ Bardock was just beginning to get an inkling as to why Trunks had been laughing earlier when Bulma had first offered to take them shopping. It had to have been nearly an _hour_ that they'd spent in this place, and they had only been to one store! 

Thinking that she _now_ understood the situation, the sales woman gave the three another oily smile. "Your daughter is really pretty, sir," she commented, though she secretly thought it strange that the girl's father and brother were taking her nightie shopping. She blinked in surprise as the teen started choking and the older man looked startled. 

"She's not my daughter," he explained, an amused smile gracing his lips. "She's just a friend who's taking me and my son shopping." 

_She's... taking _them_ shopping?! _Mentally, she shrugged it off. Oh well. She didn't really care _what_ was going on as long as she got her money, and her 10% commission. Given those two essentials in life, she could deal with any and all oddities displayed by her customers. 

"All right, I'm done!" the blue haired girl said cheerfully as she promptly handed her newly acquired bag of clothing over to Radditz. "Here, Radditz, will you carry this for me?" The teenager opened his mouth to protest, but Bulma didn't give him any choice as she turned around and exited the store so quickly that he and Bardock had to speed up their pace just to catch up with her. Her eyes darted around the mall in search of their next destination, lighting up when she saw the sign above another store. Both Saiyans followed her gaze to the brightly painted sign, confusion reflected on their faces as they tried to make out the unfamiliar letters. 

Surf's Up, Dude!

~*~ 

The adrenaline of excitement flooded through the veins of the two demi-Saiyans as they finally caught sight of the thin tower that reached up into the heavens farther than even their eyes could see. Both boys angled upwards toward the top of the tower and gave an extra burst of speed, almost flashing into Super Saiyan in their haste to arrive at the tower where the one who grew the magical senzu beans lived. Within moments of when they first spotted their goal, Goten and Trunks landed lightly on the balcony, directly in front of the short, fluffy white cat who held a staff almost twice as tall as he was. 

"Hiya, Karin-sama!" Goten greeted the cat enthusiastically, a big, goofy grin on his face. "I'm Son Goten, and this is my friend Trunks Briefs, and we-" 

"Yes, I know," Karin interrupted him. "You're here for a senzu bean for your father, Goku, who just happens to be younger than you." 

"Hey, wow, that's right!" Goten exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise. "How'd you know?" 

"I read your mind," the cat replied simply. "You and your friend there are from the future, and you're gathering the dragonballs so you can wish yourselves back home. It's all there in your mind." 

"Cool!" The spiky haired chibi grinned delightedly, rubbing the back of his neck in a familiar gesture. 

"Then we don't have to explain anything, since you already know everything we know, right?" Trunks asked. 

"No, not everything," the mysterious cat chuckled. "I stopped reading your minds as soon as I found out what I needed to know, which is more than I think I wanted to know. Knowing too much about the future, even a future that may never happen, can be dangerous. Still," he chortled, pointing his staff at Trunks, "I find it rather amusing the you're the son of those two hellcats down there. Oh, yes, I've been watching those two, and let me tell you, I never would have thought it possible for them to fall in love!" 

"I know what you mean," Trunks agreed, grinning a little himself. Even he wondered exactly how it had happened that his mother and his father got gotten together. They were such an unlikely couple! 

"So can we have a senzu bean?" Goten pleaded, giving Karin his best Son Puppy Eyes (TM). "Please? Goku really needs it! I don't want him to die!" 

"Yeah, sure," Karin said as he walked over to a pot filled with the small brown beans. Reaching a paw in, he grabbed a handful and poured them into a little brown pouch, which he handed over to Goten. "Six beans, one for each of you and your friends. Good luck with your dragonball hunt." The two boys thanked him fervently as they blasted off into the air, nearly knocking the poor cat over in their wake. "Why do I get the feeling that this isn't the last I'm going to see of that family?" Karin wondered out loud as he steadied himself. No one answered him, which was only logical, seeing as how he was the only one there. 

~*~ 

"Itai! My eyes!" Bardock cried out, shielding his eyes from the barrage of color that assaulted him from every direction. Suffering the same affliction, Radditz rubbed his eyes and opened them again, promptly wincing as he got another eyeful of the rainbow of every natural and unnatural color, some of which he hadn't even known existed. "Now I know what Goten was talking about when he told me about shopping on Earth!" In comparison with the brightly colored clothing around him, that shirt his grandson had described, neon orange with yellow and green flowers, seemed almost tame! 

"Oh, quit being such a baby," Bulma snapped as she snatched a blue and red Hawaiian print shirt off a rack and held it up to Bardock's chest. "Hmm.. not quite your colors... maybe something with orange, or green." Rather than putting the shirt back, she turned on Radditz, a gleeful glint in her eyes. "But it would be _perfect_ on you, Radditz!" she crowed as she pressed the shirt up against the teenage Saiyan, eyeing him critically. The poor boy gulped nervously as he warily glanced down at the shirt. It wasn't as bad as most of the shirts on display, but it was still much more colorful than he was used to. "Great, that's one shirt! Here, you can hold it until I'm ready to buy it." Shoving the shirt into his surprised arms, she happily dashed over to another rack. "This one will look _great_ on you, Bardock!" she cried, holding up a tie-dye shirt with rainbow hues in a spiral pattern. The intensity of the colors was enough to make Bardock cringe, but Bulma didn't care. She snatched his arm and pulled him over to a fitting room. "Go inside and put it on. Then come back and show me, so I can see how it looks on you. Go on, go on!" Despite her inferior strength, the little human female somehow managed to push the older Saiyan into one of the rooms, shutting the door firmly as she glanced back at Radditz. "You too! Get into one of those rooms and put on that shirt, Radditz," she demanded, planting her fists on her hips. Anxious not to be forced into a changing room in such a humiliating manner, the black-maned teen hastily entered a separate room and shut the door, leaving the bag of Bulma's clothing with her. 

The two emerged, wearing their respective shirts and looking very uncomfortable in them, to find Bulma staring speculatively at a pair of grass skirts. Father and son paled simultaneously as they both came up with the same idea. _No. She wouldn't! Would she? Oh Kami, no!_ At this point, neither one of them was willing to put anything past Bulma. 

"There you are! Hey, those shirts _do_ look good on you! Ha! You can always trust me to have the greatest fashion sense," she congratulated herself. "While you guys were in there, I found some more shirts for you to try on." Smiling broadly, she shoved each of the Saiyans a dozen more shirts and shorts each and pushed them back into the changing rooms. Despite having to try on even more clothing than they thought they would ever need or wear in years, both males heaved a sigh of relief. _At least she didn't make us put on those skirts!_

~*~ 

Pulling the Dragon Radar out, Trunks clicked the button while the two boys sped through the air in the direction of the capsule house. To his mild surprise, a blip immediately showed up fairly close to their location. "Hey, Goten, there's a dragonball nearby. Wanna go take a look? It shouldn't be to hard to get, and we could probably still beat the others home." 

The thought of bringing home a dragonball along with the life-saving senzu beans brought a grin to Goten's face and he nodded eagerly. "Yeah! That'd be great, Trunks!" 

"Okay, then, it's off in that direction." The lilac haired Saiyan pointed off to the east even as he reoriented himself in mid air. "It should take us... maybe fifteen minutes to get there. Race ya, Goten!" Even as he said these words, he was already speeding off in the direction of the dragonball. 

"Hey, no fair, Trunks! You got a head start!" Goten pushed himself faster as he tried to catch up to his best friend. "I'm gonna get you, Trunks!" Together, the two boys raced off in search of the dragonball. 

~*~ 

Radditz sighed in resignation as he put on yet another of the jarringly colored shirts Bulma had picked out for him. It was a button up shirt that started with crimson red at the bottom and faded up to a shocking golden yellow at the top with the words BURN BABY scrawled across the back in flame-like letters, colored various shades of red and orange. He wore it unbuttoned with a plain white T-shirt underneath, accompanied by normal blue jeans. If it weren't for the eye sore of a shirt, he might have been able to stand the clothes, but Bulma just _had_ to add in that last part of the ensemble. 

As he stepped out of the changing room for what must have been the twentieth time that day, he looked around for Bulma, determined to get this over with as soon as possible so they could end this humiliation and get back to the capsule house. Weaving his way through the rows of clothing in search of the familiar blue haired girl, he failed to notice as a little boy came running down the aisle, shrieking with glee as his mother dashed frantically after him. 

"Get back here this instant, Turuck!" she cried out angrily. The boy only laughed and ran harder, waving an ice cream cone in the air as he glanced back to see how close behind his mother was. Radditz, who had just barely spotted Bulma, had his back to the child when the boy smacked into him. Caught by surprise and knocked off balance, the hapless Saiyan fell over and only barely managed to put his hands out to break his fall and prevent his face from slamming into the floor. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" the distressed mother apologized pathetically as she pulled her giggling son out of Radditz's knee length mane of hair. Unfortunately, Turuck's ice cream cone was another story entirely. The half-melted blob of vanilla had landed directly in the middle of Radditz's wild hair and was now dripping deeper into it all the way through to his shirt. Ignoring the woman's pleas for forgiveness for her son, Radditz picked himself up off the floor and groaned as he felt something on his back. It was cold. It was gooey. It was sticky. And it was in his hair. His _hair_! Not only did he have to wear this horribly bright shirt that could disable an enemy by sight alone, but now he had some kind of icy, viscous liquid dripping down his back! After that first brief and shining moment of humor in the underwear store, everything had gone to ashes. Now he seemed to be stuck in temporal distortion where time dragged by on leaden feet, he was being forced to wear clothing bright enough to scare off Frieza, and he was in desperate need of another shower. _This day couldn't possibly get any worse._

~*~ 

*smirks evilly* Famous last words, Radditz. Mwahahaha! And of course _everyone_ knows that, since he said that, it _has_ to get worse! *grins broadly* Which it will. ^_^ 

I have nothing else to say, really, so I'll just get on my knees and shamelessly beg the readers to review. *promptly falls to her knees and bows before the almighty readers* Oh, great, wise, and wonderful readers! How can I ever measure up to you fantastic people?! *bows some more* I humbly beseech you to press that little review button at the bottom of the screen. *attempts to kiss the feet of anyone she can get close enough to* I am not worthy! I am not worthy for your reviews, but I beg of you to give them to me anyway! Please! I must... have... reviews.... I'll die if I don't get them! AAAHHH!!! *gives a blood curdling scream, keels over, and passes away on the spot* 

Okay, okay! *laughs her head off* I wasn't serious with that! I was just feeling like mocking myself for always asking readers to review my chapters. ^_^ I'm not begging... really... okay, maybe I _do_ beg a little, but not like _that_! You really don't have to review, but I hope you do anyway. ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Endangered Saiyans" by Chelsee, storyid 9716, resurrects Radditz, Nappa, and Turles by means of a careless wish. This story and the following sequels take our normal, favorite Saiyans, adds these previously dead Saiyans, tosses in a splash of Bardock, some good old fashioned plot, and you get a pretty funny series and a worthwhile read. I really do recommend you read them! 


	44. Swimsuit Edition

_This chapter was co-written by Burenda and Frozenflower._

Mwahaha... with the two of us working together, you _know_ this chapter is going to be... interesting! *smirks broadly* 

Thanks to ChibiCasey for her help as a sounding board for some of the ideas that I made for this chapter. ^_^ 

Warning: Shameless self-insertion! I couldn't help myself! *grins* 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. All the characters belong to Akira Toriyama and whoever else may be involved. Well, except for Turuck (from last chapter), Mr. Burick, Chu Pika, and Brenda. Yes! I DO own Brenda!! *grins* 

Bardock: *chuckles* I should hope so. 

Brenda: And, yes, all puns in those names _were_ intended. *lopsided smile* I'm not gonna do a long disclaimer, or even a very witty one. I'll save all the humor for the actual chapter. Go on! Get reading! Shoo shoo shoo! *gently nudges the readers on to the beginning of the chapter* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Swimsuit Edition) 

Distracted by the commotion, Bulma glanced up from a piece of paper in her hands and came face to face with a sight that made her want to giggle. There was her handsome, wonderful Radditz with... ice cream dripping down his mane, along with a distraught mother and her rambunctious son, the former pleading with the humiliated teenager to forgive the latter's antics. The blue haired girl didn't know whether to run up and comfort her crush, or hold her sides and laugh until it hurt. It was _hilarious_! How did he manage to get _ice cream_ running down the back of his head, anyway? Bulma wasn't sure she wanted to know. 

Deciding that there were more important things at stake here, specifically Radditz's good looks and the interesting piece of information she'd just learned, Bulma put away her mirth and marched up to the Saiyan, grabbing him by the arm. "You're coming with me, buster!" she said firmly. She hastily paid for the clothing Radditz was wearing, then forcefully pulled him along behind her. 

Radditz didn't even have a chance to protest as he was suddenly dragged out of the store and towards a large pool of water that had a woman standing in the center, water spraying out of her mouth in a constant stream - he supposed it was some kind of fountain. A metallic glint in the pool's depths caught his eyes and he gazed with interest at the coins littering the bottom. _What kind of strange Earth custom would cause people to throw money in there?_

So distracted was he by the various conjectures that leapt into his mind, he never even noticed Bulma's hands descending on his head until it was too late. With a startled squeak, he tried to jump back as she shoved his head into the stream of water. Unfortunately the only thing he managed to do was unbalance himself, and he tripped over the edge of the pool, landing face first in the water. 

Emerging from the water, dripping and spluttering indignantly, Radditz snarled at his attacker. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" he shouted as he sloshed his way out of the pool. A puddle of water quickly formed beneath the seething Saiya-jin, slowly spreading outwards as more water dripped out of the teen's soaking hair. 

"Well, at least the ice cream's gone," Bulma replied positively, shrugging her shoulders. Secretly, she smiled. Now that the first of her problems had been solved, it was only a matter of breaking the news to her two companions. Speaking of which... "We should go back and find Bardock. I think we left him in the store, so he's probably wondering where we are." 

Thanking whatever Kami this backwater planet had that he could manipulate ki, Radditz flared his energy briefly until the water that slicked his clothing and hair heated and evaporated. After he let his ki fade away, he was once again dry and relatively clean, though he was still inwardly fuming about the whole incident. Fortunately, Bulma at least let him walk under his own power this time. _Thank Kami for small blessings,_ he sarcastically thought to himself. 

Once they were back inside the store, they quickly found Bardock examining the shirts on a display rack. Amazingly enough, he'd managed to find a plain, sky blue T-shirt somewhere amidst the plethora of insanely colored clothing, which he was now eyeing speculatively. He didn't really think it was quite his color, but Radditz might like it. Glancing up, he noticed the two children approaching him, Bulma with a mischievous and triumphant gleam in her eyes, and his son with a very sullen look on his face. Bardock's eyes were immediately drawn to the flame-colored shirt the younger Saiyan was wearing, and it was all he could do to keep from bursting out laughing. Of course, he shouldn't be too amused, seeing as how he himself was dressed in a florescent green T-shirt that had been generously speckled with little red hearts and a pair of tan shorts that stopped several inches above his knees. He _hated_ that shirt, but Bulma had made him try it on anyway. He sincerely hoped Bulma did _not_ buy that shirt for him. It was embarrassing enough simply to be made to try it on like this. 

Catching sight of his father, Radditz couldn't help but smile a little. At least he wasn't the only one suffering! 

"That shirt really doesn't suit you, Bardock," Bulma said, frowning slightly as she ran a critical eye over the ensemble. Bardock let out a breath of relief at her judgment. "The shorts look good, though, so we'll get those. In fact, we probably have enough clothing for both of you now that we can move on." Both Saiyans perked up so suddenly and hopefully it was almost comic. Giving them a slow, victorious smile, the unwitting tormentor held out the piece of paper in her hands like a prize, excitedly adding, "And I know exactly what we're going to do next!" 

Both Saiyans gulped simultaneously, not liking the tone of the girl's voice, and shifted their attention almost fearfully to the flyer in her hand. Still being unable to read the Chikyuu-jin language, their eyes were immediately drawn to the colorful picture at the top of the paper. It was a picture of a glassy, orange-red ball with six stars floating in the middle. 

"I already checked the radar," the girl grinned cheerfully. "And it says there _is_ a dragonball somewhere in the complex! And with you two entering, it'll be a cinch to get that six-star ball!" 

Bardock had at first felt relief that what Bulma had in mind wasn't another trip to yet another store and was, in fact, merely locating and claiming another dragonball. Then her words caught up with him and his relief changed to confusion. "Enter what?" he asked, scanning the page again in the futile hope that he would be able to read the foreign words. 

"The contest, of course!" Jabbing at the paper in exasperation, she rolled her eyes. "It's not like we can just steal the ball! No, we have to enter the contest, and since it's the prize for the male half of the competition, _both_ of you have to enter!" 

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, Radditz quit looking at the paper so he could warily eye the eleven year old female. "What contest?" 

That caught Bulma by surprise. "You two can't read?" 

Shaking their heads in unison, the two males smiled in amusement at Bulma's flabbergasted expression. "Well, what did you expect?" the oldest of the two asked, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "Radditz and I aren't from Earth, and we've only been here for a few days, so it's not like we've had much of a chance to learn how to read." 

With dawning realization in her eyes, the blue haired scientist silently vowed to teach her two temporary charges how to read at the earliest opportunity. "Okay, then, here's what the paper says. There's a swimsuit contest here at the mall in about an hour, and the prize for the male half of the competition is a ball that's reputed to have magical properties, along with a gift certificate for a free massage at the local massage parlor. With the bodies you two have, you'll blow the competition out of the water!" Smirking in a way that oddly reminded Radditz of Prince Vegeta, Bulma grabbed both males by an arm and began to drag them off to the swim wear section of the store. "Now, come on! We only have an hour to get you two the perfect swimsuits and get you over to that contest!" Oh, she was going to _love_ this shopping trip! 

Seeing the gleam in his captor's eyes, Radditz silently gulped. Proud Saiya-jin warrior that he might be, he was beginning to get the idea that Bulma was the one who was really in control. He had no idea what would be involved in this so-called swimsuit contest, but judging by the look on the blue haired girl's face, it could only spell trouble. 

~*~ 

When he had first heard about the swimsuit contest, the only thought in his mind had been how to get to the Orange Star City Mall as quickly as possible. He couldn't help it! Beautiful women were his downfall. They attracted him like a bee to honey. Besides which, he didn't _want_ to help it! And once these women got a load of just how _studly_ he was, they wouldn't be able to keep their hands off him. 

A sly grin filled the wrinkled face of the bald martial artist as his eyes, hidden by his dark sunglasses, longingly gazed at a petite brunette who walked in front of him, just out of reach. The luscious blonde... the leggy red-head... He just had to get closer! It was like showing a starving man a buffet. Just _showing_! Not letting him eat. Oooh, how he wanted to get a hold of those _buns_! 

Getting in a couple of good pinches that elicited outraged screams from the victims, the venerable old master stepped confidently up to the check-in desk and signed his name under the column for the male competition. He didn't really care about the prize - what did he want a dragonball for? Pulling out his skimpy, bright red speedo - red, the color of _love_! - Muten Roshi chuckled happily to himself. No, he wasn't here for the prize. He was here for the _ladies_!! 

Collecting his pass from the desk, Master Roshi walked cheerfully back stage and towards the dressing rooms. He was in heaven! All those beautiful women, changing into their bathing suits only a few meters away! If only he could figure out how to get into the female section of the changing area! Too bad there were guards there to prevent any wayward males from 'accidentally' entering the wrong dressing room. Oh well. He'd find a way around that little difficulty somehow. With a little leer, he thought, _It's time to see what _angels_ feel like!_

~*~ 

Bardock stood impatiently in line, waiting for the contest to start. It was a bit embarrassing, being judged like a hunk of meat, but he didn't really mind. He was proud of his warrior's physique, and wasn't afraid to display it even to the extent that the tiny, speedo did. After the incident with the brightly colored shirts, he had been pleasantly surprised when Bulma had agreed on his choice of his personal favorite color, a muted sea green. Fortunately for him, the little onna had agreed that the green would be the most becoming on him. 

Glancing at his son, he couldn't help a small smirk of amusement. He'd spent more time with Radditz in these last few weeks than he had in years, what with both of them being away on separate missions all the time. It awakened some fatherly spark of mischief in him to see his son blushing and scowling anxiously at what he had been made to wear. Radditz wasn't nearly so comfortable with exposing his body like this, or, at least, not in front of the keen hawk-like gaze that Bulma kept raking over him. The deep maroon speedo left little to the imagination, and Radditz's tail wrapped tightly around his waist, as if to provide him with just a _little _more covering. 

As the two waited in line, Bulma examined the pair critically. Reaching out, she pulled Radditz's tail from around his waist, exclaiming, "Don't wrap your tail around your waist! The judges want to see _all_ of your body, including your abs, and they'd probably think your tail was a tacky accessory or something like that!" _Not to mention the fact that _I_ want to see all of your body. Kami, he's gorgeous!_

Radditz growled threateningly as a blush leapt across his cheeks and he quickly yanked himself away from her, barely able to control his body's reaction despite how relatively brief and business-like the contact with his tail had been. Bulma's eyes widened and it was her turn to blush when she remember the effect that touching his tail had had on Radditz the last time... _Oops..._

A tense, embarrassed silence fell over the trio, with Radditz glaring, Bulma blushing, and Bardock stuck somewhere between a sympathetic smile for his son and a wicked chortle at the boy's discomfort. It was so very entertaining to see Radditz so out of sorts! 

The moment was disrupted as a familiar voice which originated from behind Radditz exclaimed creakily, "Woo, sweetheart! My name's Roshi! Maybe we could take a walk and get to _know_ each other!" Radditz jumped and almost yelped as the leering voice was punctuated by a sharp pinch on his behind. 

Whirling around, horror and rage fought for dominance on the teenage Saiyan's face as his eyes took in the person who had been behind him and had just fondled his rear end. 

~*~ 

Roshi tugged confidently at his skimpy, bright red speedo, ignoring the disgusted yelps and white faces around him. He knew he was studly, and this angel in front of him with the spiky black hair was going to take him to heaven. 

His perverted grin faded when Radditz spun around. "Hey! What happened to my pretty lady?!" 

~*~ 

Death. That was what was in store for the old pervert. Radditz's fingers itched, burned to wrap themselves around the old man's throat. He could still feel the slight twinge from where the geezer had pinched him. Rage and shame boiled in the young Saiya-jin's blood. Oh yes. He was going to die. 

Bardock glared angrily at Roshi, having seen the entire exchange, and advanced to his son's side. He had recognized the perverted martial artist immediately. _This_ was the man that taught his son? Innocent little Goku? And now, he _dared_ to touch his other son? At the thought of what this decrepit human had just done to his oldest son, and what he might have done to his youngest son during the period of training, he narrowed his eyes in fury. 

Seeing the confusion written on Roshi's face, however, Bardock suddenly realized that, somehow, it wasn't intentional. The man had mistaken Radditz for someone else. The outrage that clouded his vision died down to a cold anger. But still... It was the principle of the thing. 

~*~ 

Master Roshi gulped as two angry Saiyans stalked towards him. It had only taken him a moment to recognize them as Goku's family. That hair - he should have recognized it before! Not only was he deprived of his long-haired beauty, but the previous grope had lost all its thrill. Glancing down at his hand, then back up at the enraged Radditz's face, he suddenly realized that he had just fondled a male. A _guy_! No perky bosom to 'puff-puff', no fun to steal kisses from this source! And on top of all that, it really killed the fun to realize he now had to face two angry aliens who would probably beat him to a bloody pulp, if he was lucky. 

Backing away nervously, Roshi held his hands out in a silent plea for his life, inadvertently frightening away several contestants as they caught sight of his err... interesting... physique. 

Bulma watched in horrified fascination as Bardock cocked his fist back, intent on slamming it into the old man's skull, when something clicked in her mind and an ingenious inspiration struck her. "WAIT!!" 

Bardock glared, but halted his fist, jerking his irritated gaze to the blue haired child. "What?" 

Clapping her hands excitedly, a fiendish grin lit up Bulma's face. "Didn't you see? Everyone who catches sight of him hightails it out of here, even other guys.! Master Roshi is competition repellent! We need him if we're going to get that dragonball!" 

Pausing as the full implications of what she said sank in, Bardock hesitated for just a moment longer, then slowly lowered his fist and brought his eyes back to transfix Roshi. His glare could have burned a hole in the wall. "We'll talk about this later, old man..." he promised darkly. Roshi could only gulp and nod his comprehension, his face a sickly greenish-white. 

Even though the immediate threat of bodily harm had passed, Roshi fled to the back of the line in an attempt to put as much space between himself and the two Saiyans who still glared daggers at him. Several more competitors, male and female, scattered as he passed by them. He didn't noticed, too thankful to have gotten out of that mistake alive to care what the other people were doing. 

~*~ 

The lines were short. _Very_ short. Most of the guys had seen Roshi grope Radditz and, not knowing it had been a mistake, just weren't willing to take the chance. Who knew if the old pervert would grope them too? What did they want with some stupid orange ball anyway - even if the contest officials claimed it had some sort of magical powers? Magical powers - yeah right! 

Bardock had to stop himself from glowering back at the old pervert standing at the other end of the line. As soon as this contest was over, he'd get what was coming to him. _No_ one touched his family like that! 

The women's contest had just finished, and the few women who were brave enough to remain and take the chance of an unpleasant encounter with Roshi filed back in, skirting warily past the old hentai, whose eyes behind his ever-present sunglasses were filled with a love struck, longing glint. So much smooth, bare flesh! Such wonderful figures! Sweet, sugary candy for his old eyes. 

As soon as the women finished exiting the stage, the men were signaled that it was now their turn to be judged. Restraining a growl at Roshi, Bardock schooled his features to a calmer appearance and strode confidently out onto the stage, followed by Radditz, a blonde man, and a muscle builder type - the two were the only remaining competition besides Roshi - and, finally, the old pervert himself. 

Bulma grinned to herself from the audience as she saw the line emerge. The remaining men were _no_ match for either Bardock or Radditz. They had this thing in the bag! 

Apparently, the audience agreed with her, as there was a stirring of appreciative murmurs from the women as Bardock stepped onto the stage. Bardock flinched, a bit uncomfortable under the hot stares of the women, and his tail curled and uncurled nervously behind his back. Being in battle was _nothing_ like facing the hungry gazes of this audience. To be honest, it unnerved him just a little bit to have so many females - and, he noted to his intense discomfort, a few males - eyeing him in such an appraising manner. The catcalls he got from the more enthusiastic viewers, and the words they contained, brought a faint blush to his cheeks. For some reason, that only invited more of the suggestive hoots and hollers, and he had to fight very hard to keep from scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He noted with amusement that not all of the leers and comments were aimed at him. Glancing at Radditz, he grinned as he saw his son's flaming red cheeks and twitching tail. It was nice to know someone was more embarrassed about this than he was. 

The blonde and the body-builder strutted onto the stage and attempted to show their stuff, but they were, for the most part, largely ignored in favor of the two Saiyans. It wasn't until Master Roshi waltzed onto the stage, his chest puffed out in pride and the earlier incident momentarily forgotten, that the audience's attention was ripped away from Bardock and Radditz. Bardock was actually a bit thankful that the hermit had stepped on stage, since it gave him and Radditz a brief break from all the lustful and admiring stares they were getting. Perhaps he wouldn't kill Master Roshi after all. Just injure him. Severely. 

"Helloooo, ladies!" Roshi crowed at the top of his lungs. "You all better pull our your fans, 'cause it's about to get real _hot_ in here! Yeah! I know you can't resist me!" One sight of his pale, wrinkled body set most of the audience shuddering with horror. Roshi, of course, misinterpreted their reaction and beamed triumphantly. "Who's ready for some _looove_?! I'm the number one stud in the world, and I'm completely available! Any pretty ladies wanna date me?!" 

It looked like the ancient relic would continue on in this vein, despite the obvious revulsion of the audience, but, to the everyone's immense relief, Bardock calmly paced towards Master Roshi and gave the old man a glare that would have melted steel. "Shut. Up." Roshi shut up. 

Cheers erupted from the audience, making Bardock smirk faintly. 

"Ahem," a woman said over a microphone, and the audience quieted down. "If we could have each contestant walk down the aisle so that the judges can make their decisions... We'd like to start with the contestant named Studmuffin." Roshi's face lit up and he eagerly stepped forward and began to walk down the catwalk that ran in front of the judging tables. The five female judges cringed, but had to force themselves to look at him critically. It was truly one of the worst moments of any of their lives. 

Brenda, the primary judge and spokeswoman of the contest, picked up the microphone and continued on. "Er... thank you, *cough* Studmuffin," she choked out. "Please step backstage until the final results are in. If we could have Mr. Burick come down, now?" A collective sigh of relief ran through the audience as the speedo-clad Roshi vanished, albeit temporarily, from view. Mr. Burick, the muscle-bound body builder, smirked as he passed by Roshi. _What luck! I get to go right after that scumbag pervert! The contrast alone is bound to earn me bonus points!_ Flexing his muscles in what he thought was an attractive manner, the man made his way to the end of the aisle and back. The same process was repeated for the blonde, a well toned, though not as well built, young man named Chu Pika. He, too, joined the others backstage. 

Radditz's turn came next, and the poor teenager was once again subjected to the praise and innuendoes that floated up from the audience. The female judges all smiled faintly since they finally got to judge a male worthy of their attentions. A couple of them frowned at his widow's peak, but the others just shrugged it off. He more than made up for it with his figure! Happily thanking him for participating, Brenda directed him off the stage, then called for the final contestant. 

Bardock. 

If he had been uncomfortable before, it was ten times worse now! Every eye in the audience was riveted on Bardock, especially since there were no others present to distract them. Bardock flushed a bright crimson as he strode down the catwalk, tail swishing gently behind him. From the leers and whoops the ladies directed at him, he felt almost as though he wasn't wearing anything at all. Which wasn't far from the truth, in reality. _If the reaction of the audience is anything to go by, it looks pretty certain that we'll get that dragonball,_ he thought positively, nervously turning around and heading back the way he had come. He winced as this increased the number of catcalls and references to his butt and his tail. He'd never really been all that body conscious, but during those few minutes he'd been on stage, he came about as close to it as he'd ever been in his life. 

Brenda's eyes felt like they were going to fall right out of her head as she latched them onto the green speedo-clad male. He was absolutely the most gorgeous hunk of flesh she had ever seen in her life. He had the muscles that Mr. Burick had, but his were all well-earned, received from years of practical use, not from sitting around in a gym pumping iron all day. In fact, judging by the scars that could be seen on his body, she guessed that the man was a fighter. The scars did nothing to detract from his overall beauty and, in fact, enhanced it. Physical flaws showed that he was not perfect, which was a highly attractive quality in a man, in her opinion. Men with 'perfect' bodies usually made up for it with ugly personalities, or egos the size of Texas. Raking her eyes critically over his well toned legs, his cute butt, and broad, muscled chest, she didn't forget that she was supposed to be judging this guy. Oh, she was judging, all right! A little grin crossed Brenda's face and she had to concentrate to keep from drooling. _This is gonna be the easiest contest I've ever judged!_

Having finished appraising his body by the time he had made his way to the end of the catwalk, Brenda contentedly began to examine the rest of him. He had a very attractive face, an elfin chin, a strong, sharp nose, large eyes and elegant eye brows. And his hair was so wild! She wondered if it was like that naturally, or if he had to use hair gel to get it to stick out like that. It certainly didn't look like there was any gel in it! As Bardock started back towards the stage exit, the judge caught sight of his fuzzy brown tail. _How odd... that looks almost real!_ Blinking to clear her mind, she dismissed the matter. Who cares if it was real or not? It looked pretty dang good on him! A silly smile slid easily onto her face as she gazed longingly at the man's back. _ I wonder if he's single..._

Once Bardock had left the immediate view of the audience, the judges conversed quietly and compared their votes. Then they called the five contestants back on stage for the announcement of the winner. Brenda, being the spokeswoman of the judges, picked up her microphone and started speaking into it. "Thank you all for participating in this contest! The judges have all unanimously voted, and this year's winner of the Orange Star City Swimsuit Contest, whose picture will appear in the Orange Star City Swimsuit Edition Calendar, is....." 

~*~ 

Ha! Like I'd tell you! If you can't figure it out, then I feel sorry for you. *grins* Of course, I could do a really evil plot twist and let Roshi win... *snickers* But that ain't likely! 

Hehehe... okay, Frozenflower, I'll tell them all that I'm the one responsible for the Roshi in a speedo scene. That originated from MY twisted mind. No one flame poor Frozenflower for my evil deeds. ^_^ *evil laughter* I've scarred you all for life with that image, haven't I? *smirks* 

Frozenflower: "Yeah, not even I'm THAT evil! Talk about evil masterminds...I thought I was bad...Burenda takes the cake!" 

That is one LOOOONG chapter! My longest yet, in fact. Even longer than the Golden Son Rise Part Two (I think it was part two). You get the idea. But it was soooo much fun to write, I just COULDN'T end it in the middle! Lucky readers. ^_^ 

Well, one last bit of business to take care of. I've done it for almost every chapter before now, I'll probably do it just about every chapter in the future... I gotta beg for reviews! *laughs* Please review? *gives the readers puppy dog eyes* 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Gohan's Journey: Fanfiction.net" by Paladone, story id 201346, is a truly hilarious fic about 12 year old Gohan being sucked into the world of ff.net, where he must journey through all the terrible, crappy fan fiction before he can escape. It makes fun of almost all the genres and and the fictions that give them bad names. Really, you have to go read this! It's so funny! 


	45. Moving On

*stares in numb awe at the review count* 1000? 1000 reviews? *head spins a little bit* Yeesh... if I'm not careful, my ego might make my brain explode! *grabs a mallet and starts pounding her head in an attempt to control her ego* 

Hehe... don't worry about my sanity. It was gone long before I started this fic. ^_^ Thank you all sooo much for reading and reviewing this story! Now, I know many of you are expecting a 1000 review special. Sorry, but if you've noticed, I only do Specials when I have a special inspiration. If you really want a Special, consider the Swimsuit Edition your special. It was, after all, nearly twice as long as a normal chapter, and it was special because Frozenflower co-authored it with me. 

Congratulations, Daishi MkII, for being the 1000th reviewer. Umm... 1000 sounds special and all, but I really don't have any big reward for it or anything. *pulls out a Magic Bag O' Rewards (TM)* *reaches in and pulls out...* Here ya go! It's a 1000 Review keychain! 

I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed this story, from the first chapter and on. I'd list off all your names, but there are just too many of you! Some of you have asked specifically to be mentioned, but I'm not going to do that. Sorry. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate you any less! You all have been such wonderful reviewers and have helped me keep writing this story on the days when I wasn't feeling like writing. you've inspired and supported me, and that makes you all very special indeed. Once again, thank you! 

Disclaimer: *giggles insanely* I just found out I have wild burdock growing in my back yard! Does this mean I own Bardock?? *hopeful gleam in her eyes* 

Bardock: Errr... no, it doesn't. 

Brenda: Dang! Oh well. No, I don't own DBZ, or any of the characters. That wild burdock in my back yard is as close to owning any of the characters as I'll likely ever come. *plucks a few leaves of the burdock and munches on them* 

Bardock: *sweatdrops* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Moving On) 

"BARDOCK!!" 

A wild cheer erupted from the audience as Brenda hopped onto the stage and gleefully latched onto the taller man's arm, pulling him forward until they got to the end of the catwalk. Bardock was smirking faintly from the rush that a victory always gave him, no matter the arena of combat. His tail was lashing back and forth wildly, revealing his emotions to any who could understand the subtle language of Saiyan tails, and a slight blush graced his cheeks, enabling those not so well versed in Saiyan body language to know what he was feeling. He didn't even notice that Brenda was probably a little closer to him than she should have been. 

"Congratulations, Bardock!" Brenda cheered into the microphone. "Now, if we could have to step backstage and into a room prepared for the picture taking, we could wrap this up, give you your prize, and you can go home." Even as she was saying this, a man came onto the stage from behind the curtains and approached the duo. He whispered something into the spokeswoman's ear, who nodded at his words, then turned around and left. "I've just been informed that the photographers of the OSC Swimsuit Edition Calendar would also like the runner up, Radditz, to pose for a few shots." Another enthusiastic cheer greeted this revelation, making it apparent that none of the women in the crowd would mind at all seeing Radditz's picture in the Swimsuit Calendar. 

Leading the two Saiyans off stage by the arms, Brenda took them to a large side room that had been prepared in advance for the photo shoot. Since she was the spokeswoman of the contest, she even got to sit in on the picture taking, something that she was taking great pleasure in. _Oh man, I don't think I've ever seen two sexier guys on Earth! They both have those strange tails, too. They're probably related, I guess._ Happily sitting down next to Bardock as they waited for the camera men to pick the lighting, she idly toyed with the idea of asking him out on a date after this was all over. _He might say yes, after all!_ She stifled an excited giggle at the thought. One could only hope. 

~*~ 

The only thing Bardock felt as he exited the room was relief. He had felt extremely ridiculous doing those silly poses as various photographers snapped pictures of him and Radditz together and separately. On top of that, there had been that strange female who kept pestering him about getting together after this was all over. He guessed she was attracted to him, but the feelings were not mutual. Sure, she nice to look at, but he just wasn't interested in a romantic relationship. The wounds from Sereri's loss were still too fresh and deep, and he really doubted that he would ever find another mate. Saiya-jin tended to mate for life, and it was a rare case indeed where a Saiyan found a second mate after the loss of their first one. He had no reason to believe that he would be any different from the majority of his people, nor did he have any real desire to find a second mate. For him, there was only Sereri. 

As he and Radditz padded back to the men's changing room, Bardock suddenly remembered the incident with Roshi. Inwardly, he reflected that he had jumped to the wrong conclusion about the old pervert, but he was still furious with the martial artist. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on the having to let photographers take pictures of him after he won the competition, and it looked like Roshi had hightailed it out of there already. _Coward_, he snorted to himself, smirking. _Can't really blame him, though. However, if I ever see his wrinkled old face again..._ He left the thought hanging, not really certain what he would do, only knowing that it would be unpleasant for the old hentai. 

Once the two had gotten dressed and had left the men's changing area, they found Bulma waiting impatiently, tapping the toe of one foot with her arms crossed. In her hands she held a folder with some copies of the photos that had been taken of the two of them, along with the gift certificate and the six star dragonball. An amused Bardock had said that she could have the free massage in his place, since he didn't particularly want to place himself under the hands of some strange human who knew nothing about Saiya-jin physiology and reflexes. One misplaced hand, and Bardock might accidentally kill the man (or woman) out of instinct. 

"You two were _great!_" Bulma grinned as she caught sight of them. It was mildly disappointing that they were back in normal clothing again, but at least she had those pictures! She would treasure those always, and probably make dozens of copies. Especially the ones of Radditz. "Okay, now that we have that done with, we need to get back to shopping! Seeing as how you two are both fighters, I thought maybe you'd like to go to this little martial arts store that's just around the corner." 

Father and son glanced at each other and shrugged simultaneously. It wasn't likely that they were going to get out of shopping anytime soon, and, as they'd already found out, there were stores far worse than martial arts stores that they could be going to instead. They wordlessly followed their guide on to the next shop, hoping that perhaps this place would have some normal clothing. 

~*~ 

_Maybe the Kami of this world is listening, after all._ Bardock grinned as he slipped into a sea green gi and examined himself in the mirror. Flowing in loose folds that wouldn't hinder movement, it was comfortable and fit. And, more importantly, it did not hurt his eyes just to look at it. He'd also found another pair of loose black pants, much like the ones he'd been wearing for the past few weeks, a black, weighted shirt, and a green top to wear over it, along with black weighted arm bands and boots. His Saiyan boots were still serviceable, but going by the track record he'd had with clothes so far, there was no guarantee that they would remain that way for long. He might have varied the colors in his clothing more, but the store had a limited selection of colors, and most of them didn't really fit Bardock's taste. 

Radditz, too, had found some acceptable clothing, some in his own preferred maroon, and some in a muted twilight blue. Needless to say, both Saiyans had already determined that they were going to wear the martial arts clothing when they left the store, rather than the surfer clothes Bulma had picked out. That is, if they had a choice. 

In the mean time, Bulma had been looking through the children's section and had managed two orange gis like the one Goku tended to wear, two dark navy gis for Trunks, two royal blues for Vegeta, and two sea green for Goten. How she had known their sizes, Bardock didn't know, nor was he really sure he wanted to know, but he shrugged it off and went back to looking through the waist sashes until he found a dark green that could almost have passed for black. _Perfect._

Deciding that he had found enough clothing to suit him, he brought the small stack of items over to the check-out desk and placed them with the other things Bulma and Radditz had picked. Radditz soon joined him and placed his bundle down as well. The sales clerk, a kindly old man with gray hair and a bald spot, began to add the purchases up. Bulma came over just as he was reaching for the last gi and she dropped the clothing she'd chosen for the boys on the desk. Mild surprise flitted across Bardock's mind as he glanced over her choices, since none of them were bright or eye wrenching, unless you counted the orange gis. That was fine with him, though, since Goku liked that color anyway. 

_Goku..._ While the man continued to ring up the purchases, Bardock's mind wandered back to his youngest son. Worry began to gnaw at his heart as he recalled how severely the boy had been injured, and the fact that he had left him with only Goten, Trunks, and Vegeta to watch over him. He stared pensively at a clock on the wall of the store, absently wishing he could read Earth time pieces, knowing that it had been a long time since they had left the capsule house. He hadn't felt any of the children raise their ki, but that didn't necessarily mean that everything was all right. After nearly losing Goku the night before, he couldn't help but worry about him. 

"Well, now that we're done with that," the little blue haired girl said as she capsulized the new acquisitions, "I think we should-" 

"Umm, Bulma?" Bardock cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "I think maybe I should get back to the house now. Goku's bandages probably need to be changed, and that's not something I'd trust the boys to do." Even with his newfound fatherly concern, he wasn't about to admit to either Radditz or Bulma that he was worried about his son. It just wasn't something a Saiya-jin was supposed to do. 

While Radditz wasn't nearly so concerned about his little brother, he _did_ see this as the perfect opportunity to escape the torture that Bulma had planned for him. "Great idea, father! Let's all go back now!" he said, a desperate edge to his voice. He had no idea what store Bulma wanted to go to next, but he had absolutely no desire to be left shopping alone with _her_ for an indefinite amount of time. 

Unfortunately for him, Bulma didn't agree entirely with this plan. "Bardock's right," she stated firmly. "Someone needs to go back and check on Goku. But only one person needs to do that, and I'm not done shopping yet!" Rounding on Radditz, she leveled a finger at him. "And neither are you! Bardock doesn't need your help changing bandages. You're staying with me." She had been planning on taking them to a formal wear store, and she was _not_ about to miss out on seeing Radditz in a tuxedo! Granted, since she already knew their measurements, she could easily shop for them without their help, but she saw this as the perfect way to be alone with her crush. 

Seeing the pleading look in his son's eyes, Bardock grinned and shook his head, his own eyes twinkling with mischief. He knew that Bulma had developed some kind of puppy love for his teenage son, and that Radditz didn't return the feelings to even the slightest degree. In fact, if there _had_ been any sort of mutual attraction, Bardock probably would have been discouraging Bulma from her pursuit so as to avoid destroying any chances of her eventually getting together with Vegeta. He owed it to Trunks to give the boy a chance at life in this timeline, too. However, since there seemed to be no danger of Radditz falling in love with the human girl, Bardock felt safe in letting them spend more time together. He was discovering that it was quite fun to watch his son be tormented. 

"Here, Bardock, you can take the dragonball, and some clothes for Goku," Bulma added, give him one of the capsules of clothes, rather than opening it up just to remove one of the orange gis, and the six star dragonball. Putting both items in the folds of his green gi, he nodded his thanks and turned towards the exit, making sure to toss a final smirk at his son. 

As he watched his father leave the store, Radditz growled softly, glaring daggers at the older man's back. "I'm going to get you for this, father," he muttered under his breath, even as Bulma grabbed hold of his arm and began to drag him off to the next torture chamber in this damned dungeon. 

~*~ 

Sailing gracefully through the air, the two boys quickly spotted the village in the distance that rapidly grew in size as Goten and Trunks drew closer to it. It wasn't a very large village, but it seemed fit snugly in the valley it was located in. Once they caught sight of it, the boys forgot about their race and happily set down just outside the village entrance. Pulling out the radar, Trunks clicked it on and watched as the small blip appeared on the screen. 

"Yup, it looks like there's a dragonball here, Goten," he confirmed as he began to walk into the village in the direction the radar indicated. "In fact, it looks like it's in that big house over there. Let's go check it out!" He deftly put the radar away and sprinted towards the building in question, his younger friend close behind. The house was easily the biggest one in the village, and if the doors were for more than decoration, the person who lived inside had to be _huge_. Not that that bothered either of the chibis. They were used to being outsized by everyone, since they were still children. Besides, sides didn't matter in questions of strength. 

Before the boys reached the door to knock on it, however, it opened of its own accord and out rushed a small, black haired girl in a skimpy warrior woman's outfit, a cape on her shoulders and a bladed helmet on her head. "Goku!!!" she shrieked, her large, black eyes widening in delight. Both boys stopped short in confusion and stared at the little girl, who was probably only seven years old, as she grinned and walked up to Goten. "You remembered! Oh, I'm so happy!" A bright blush spread across her cheeks, which caused her to cover them with her hands and glance aside shyly. 

"Uhh.... remembered what?" Goten asked, confused. He put one hand behind his head and scratched his neck as he tried to figure out what the girl was talking about. 

"The wedding, silly!" she exclaimed, sounding exasperated, then promptly blushed again. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed! This is the happiest day of my life!" Goten was about to ask what she meant by that, but the girl's eyes latched onto Trunks. "Well, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Goku?" 

"I'm Trunks," the lavender hair boy said, saving his friend the arduous decision of whether to straighten the girl out about his identity or introduce Trunks. 

"Well, I'm Chi-Chi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Trunks." Chi-Chi smiled and bowed her head politely, not seeming to notice that both boys were openly gaping at her. "Well, come inside! We were about to eat lunch, and you're both welcome to join us. Then we can make plans for our wedding! I can't believe it's actually going to happen! I'm so excited!" The black haired girl was already through the door, her cape swirling in her wake, before either boy even thought about closing their mouths. 

"Goten, that's your _mom_?!" Trunks whispered hoarsely, his eyes wide in the conflict of whether to gape in shock or fall to the ground laughing. The little girl who had just greeted them was absolutely nothing like the strict, powder keg tempered, pan wielding woman he was used to. Looking over at his friend, he found that the spiky haired chibi still looked dazed, as though he'd just been hit by a Kamehameha blast. Goten opened his mouth to say something, but- 

"Get in here, you two! The food's going to get cold!" the Ox Princess yelled from inside the house, her patience wearing thin. At that moment, she sounded almost exactly like her future counterpart, which inadvertently elicited the desired response from the two boys. Goten and Trunks darted into the big house with their heads bowed meekly. They had learned throughout their short lives that one did _not_ cross Chi-Chi. 

Besides which, neither of them were about to turn down free food, especially if it had been cooked by Chi-Chi! 

~*~ 

"Agent Shao, can you read me? Over." 

"Agent Mai, I read you loud and clear. Over." 

"I'm in position to steal the dragonball, but there seems to be a problem. I don't see any sign activity at the contest Emperor Pilaf told us about. Over." 

"Gee, do you think maybe we got here too late? Over." 

"Unknown. Hold on a second, I see someone who looks like they're part of the contest. I'm going to ask her what happened to the Swimsuit Competition. Over." 

"Roger that, Mai. Over." 

Agent Mai cautiously strode up to the woman in the uniform of a judge and who was wearing a tag that announced her as judge and spokeswoman of the swimsuit contest. "Excuse me, ma'am," Mai politely said as she tapped the woman on the shoulder. "Can you tell me what happened to the swimsuit competition that was supposed to be held here?" 

"Oh, the contest?" Brenda blinked in surprise, turning around to face the black haired woman. "I'm sorry, but that ended an hour ago." 

"Is there any way I can contact the winners?" Mai asked, trying not to sound desperate. 

Brenda shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that information is not available to the public." _Besides which, only the female winner had a permanent address. Neither Bardock nor Radditz could give us their address, something about being 'in between homes' right now. Not that I'd tell you that, missy. _Seeing that Mai had nothing else to say, the spokeswoman continued on her way, a cheerful smile on her face as she once again thumbed through the pictures of the winning contestants. Too bad she couldn't get that Bardock fellow to go on a date with her, but at lease she had managed to obtain some copies of the photos! 

Once the judge was a safe distance away, Agent Mai lifted her walkie talkie to her ear and said. "Shao, we have a problem. The contest is already over and the dragonball is no longer here. I repeat, the winner of the contest has already taken the ball. Over." 

A moment of silence passed. 

"I copy that, Agent Mai. The Emperor is not going to be happy about this. Over." 

That was an understatement. Mai winced as she pictured what the little gremlin would do when they showed up without the dragonball and without any information on who had taken it. Needless to say, she was _not_ looking forward to it. 

~*~ 

There, I finally brought Chi-Chi in. And before any of you get your hopes up, I'm going to tell you that Chi-Chi will not be a very major character, nor will she be in the story for very long. I have some things planned for her and the others, but not very many. 

*glares at Mai and Shao* That scene was dull, but necessary in order to let everyone know that the villains are still active. I probably won't write much about them and Pilaf until it's time to bring the villains and good guys together. 

I'm going to try something out, courtesy of a suggestion saiyantamer made a while back. *clears throat* Ahem... I don't want ANY of you to review! DON'T REVIEW! If you review, I'll have Vegeta blast you to the next dimension! Whatever you do, don't you dare touch that little gray button! *eyes the audience warily to see if anyone's taking her seriously* _I wonder if they'll still review..._


	46. Wounded Souls

Vegeta: *stomps after a clump of reviewers* *lifts his hand* FINAL FLAAAASH!!! 

Brenda: NO! NOOOOOOO!!!! Vegeta! Don't Final Flash my reviewers! I NEED them! 

Vegeta: Onna, you said that if anyone reviewed, I could ki-blast them to the next dimension! 

Brenda: Darn it, Vegeta! I wasn't serious! I wanted them to review! Grrrrr.... now you've gone and killed them and I won't get any more reviews! DAMN IT! *grabs Chi-Chi's frying pan and starts whacking the Saiya-jin no Ouji* 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. The only thing I can think of right now that I own is a little birdy who keeps calling himself "pretty bird!" in the mirror. Maybe if I give him one of the brussel sprouts (eeeew) from dinner, he'll shut up long enough for me to finish typing the chapter. ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Wounded Souls) 

When Bardock took off towards the capsule house, he searched for the kis of Vegeta, Trunks, and Goten to use as a kind of beacon to guide him. Vegeta's ki was there, but for some reason, he couldn't sense either Trunks's or Goten's ki. However, knowing their love of the game Hide and Seek, he supposed that they might be in the middle of a game and had suppressed their energy. Who knows? Perhaps they had even included Vegeta in the game. It didn't really matter, since the prince didn't have his energy hidden. The older Saiyan focused on the ten year old's ki and followed it until he could see the house with his eyes and no longer needed a guide. 

Landing in front of the domed building, he quickly stepped through the broken door and immediately headed towards the room where his son slept, anxious to check on his condition. Realizing that he would probably need fresh bandages, he made a brief detour to the bathroom where the supplies were kept and grabbed the entire first aid kit, too keen on getting back to Goku's side to pause long enough to extract the specific items he would need and put the rest away. With the kit in hand, he continued on his way to his son's room. 

The sight that greeted him upon entering the room was not what he expected, to say the least. Lying in the chair next to the bed was the young Prince Vegeta, arms crossed and his head resting on the arm of the chair, fast asleep. A thin trickle of drool escaped the boy's open mouth, and he had his legs sprawled over the other arm of the chair while his tail dangled over the edge of the seat. Bardock gaped in surprise, jumping slightly when the young Saiyan snored softly and muttered something in his sleep, the perpetual scowl relaxing just a little bit into a slightly softer expression. 

Bardock stared at Vegeta for a moment, then shifted his gaze back to Goku, who lay in his bed in exactly the same position he'd left him in, except for the fact that the sheets seemed to be tucked in just a little snugger around him. He looked back at the sleeping Vegeta. _Vegeta... fell asleep watching my son? _He was stunned. Even though the prince's earlier words had seemed to indicate remorse for his actions the night before, he hadn't expected _this_! _Am I reading too much into this? Is it just an accident that you were sitting in that chair long enough to fall asleep? Or is it... something more? _His own face softening a little, he leaned over and gently picked the boy up, careful not to wake him. He had never seemed so... child-like... before. Bardock suddenly realized that he had been thinking of the young prince as an adult, and not as the young boy he really was. He supposed it had something to do with how Vegeta seemed to carry himself with an instinctive dignity, all the while doing his best to speak and act in a way becoming of the Saiya-jin no Ouji, remaining aloof from the others. _How much of your cold exterior is a facade, a mask to hide your true self? And just what is that inner self like?_

Carrying Vegeta in his arms, he walked to another room in the capsule house and laid the boy on the bed. As he pulled the sheets over his prince's small form, he couldn't help but smile. _If Vegeta knew that I saw him asleep in that room, and that I'd tucked him into bed, he'd probably blow a fuse. Don't worry, boy, I won't tell if you won't._ In an amused moment of self mockery, he added, _Far be it from me to show any tenderness towards the Prince of all Saiyans, and the boy who nearly got my son killed!_

With a rueful shake of his head, Bardock slipped quietly out of the room and headed back to his son's side. He picked up the first aid kit from where he'd left it next to the chair and set it down on top of the bed, then pulled the covers back to reveal Goku's injured body. He had been right in his guess that the child's bandages needed to be changed. Blood had seeped through the gauze and into the sheets and mattress, though he could tell that the amount of bleeding had diminished from last night. Bardock gently removed the bandage from the wound in Goku's side and dropped it on the floor, to be dealt with later. The hole was no longer quite so raw and gaping, but it still had a ragged look to it, and sticky red blood smeared the skin around it. Thankfully, though, there was no sign of infection, causing Bardock to breathe a sigh of relief. He swiftly cleaned this side of the hole, then carefully turned the boy over so he could repeat the process on the other side, then rebandage both parts of the injury. 

Once he had finished checking over Goku's leg, along with the various other minor wounds, and changing the dressings on them, he put away the medical supplies he had used and picked up the first aid kit and soiled bandages. He went back to the bathroom to replace the kit where he had found it, then tossed the bandages in a basket next to the clothes washer. Since he didn't know how to operate it, he would let Bulma deal with that when she came back with Radditz. 

Returning to the room, he pulled the chair away from the wall to face the bed, then sat down in it so he could watch over his peacefully sleeping son. Goku's cheeks seemed to have lost some of their pallor, and his breaths came in a slow, regular cycle. A soft smile spread across the older warrior's face and he reached a hand out to smooth his child's unruly hair, hair that looked so much like his own. Just looking at the boy made something stir inside him, a feeling he had never felt before that warmed him and tugged at his heart. He wasn't certain if he liked the strange emotion, but he decided he would deal with it later. Right now, the only thing on his mind was his youngest son. 

As Bardock's fingers drew away from the spikes of Goku's hair, he tenderly caressed his son's warm cheek, wiping a stray speck of dirt away with his thumb. In response, Goku's eyelids fluttered briefly, then slowly opened to reveal his coal black eyes. Bardock blinked in surprise, not expecting Goku to wake up for at least another day, but he smiled broadly as his son's eyes focused on the warrior's features. 

"Daddy?" The chibi Saiyan's voice was soft, sleepy, but fully aware. His eyes opened a little further but remained firmly fixed on his father's face. 

"Yeah. It's me. How are you feeling?" Bardock really wasn't certain what to say in this situation, but the words seemed right. His hand continued to cup Goku's cheek, forgotten by its owner, who kept smiling gently down at his son. 

"I'm hungry..." Goku murmured, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Bardock couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped from his lips. _Just like a true Saiyan. Waking up for the first time after nearly dying and the first thing he says is 'I'm hungry.'_ The boy wriggled a little to find a more comfortable position, then winced in pain. "And my side hurts, too." 

That sobered the older Saiyan up. Pulling his hand away from Goku's cheek, he ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "That's probably because you had a big stick poking through it when I found you." 

Goku's brow furrowed in confusion and his eyes became lost in thought as he tried to remember what happened. After a few moments, the blank look faded and was replaced by one of grief and misery. Tears welled up in his eyes as he recalled the events and revelations of the night before, a small sob shaking the child's body. "Daddy, I killed my grandpa," Goku whispered raggedly, eyes unblinking and filled with pain. The tears that formed began to spill down his cheeks in small, glistening streams. 

Upon opening his mouth, Bardock found that he couldn't think of what to say. There were a million things he could say, but all of them sounded empty and meaningless to him. Reaching out with both arms, he carefully and gently gathered his son's small frame in his arms, lifting him out of bed and resting him in his lap. With one arm cradling the boy's head against his chest and the other supporting Goku's back, he decided that a simple, comforting hug would be best. Goku sobbed again and buried his face in his father's shirt, tears flowing freely to soak into the green cloth. 

After sitting like this for several minutes, words finally came into Bardock's mind on their own. "It wasn't your fault, you know," he murmured softly, rubbing Goku's back in a soothing manner. "You had no control over your oozaru transformation. You were too young, and you had no one to teach you." He flinched inwardly at these words, a pang of guilt wrenching at his heart. _You had no one to teach you because I abandoned you. It's not your fault, Goku. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine._

"B-but I looked at the m-moon, even though g-grandpa told me not to!" Goku sobbed brokenly, his voice muffled from speaking through Bardock's shirt. "If-if I hadn't looked at th-the moon, grandp-pa would still b-be alive!" 

Bardock's heart literally ached for the grief and anguish his son was going through and he found himself wishing he could take the pain away and bring back the cheerful little boy he had met only a few days ago. Hesitantly wrapping his tail around Goku's waist, being careful not to aggravate the wound, he let the fuzzy brown tip stroke the seven year old's tail. The gesture was meant to be comforting, generally only used by close friends and relatives, and was seldom practiced simply because Saiya-jin rarely allowed themselves to show such emotions. In the instances it was used most often, there was usually death involved. More specifically, the death of someone loved more deeply than was normal. A twin, a mate - in some cases, a parent, a child, or a sibling. 

It seemed to Bardock that now was an appropriate time for this gesture. 

"You didn't know, Goku," he said softly, his tail continuing to stroke Goku's soothingly. "You didn't know what would happen. You couldn't have known that you were the creature your grandpa told you about. It's not your fault." In response to either his words or the embrace, Goku stopped trembling and relaxed a little, though he still cried, hiccuping every now and again. "Accidents happen, and I'm sure your grandfather knows you didn't mean to kill him. He still loves you, and he knows you love him. That's all that matters." 

"But it hurts so much," Goku whispered hoarsely, tilting his head up to look at his father through eyes that shimmered with the tears that continued to fall from them in crystalline droplets. 

"I know, Goku, I know. The pain never really goes away." Thinking back on the loss of Sereri, he shivered suddenly and clutched his son closer to his chest. Yes, he knew all too well what the pain of loss felt like. "But it fades, and it doesn't hurt as much. You just have to let time heal these kinds of wounds." 

Pressing his face into his father's chest once more, Goku nodded even as he began to sob again. Bardock continued to hold him protectively as his tail curled loosely around Goku's small body. Eventually, the younger Saiyan's whimpers trailed off into quiet, steady breathing as sleep reclaimed him. Rather than setting him back down on the bed, Bardock just kept holding his small son in his arms, finding in the boy a measure of solace for his own pain. Both of them bore wounds in their souls deeper than the eye could see, but perhaps, together, they would be enough to heal each other's broken hearts. 

~*~ 

Upon entering the house, Goten and Trunks suddenly realized just how hungry they were as their noses immediately picked up the appetizing scents that wafted through the air. With stomachs growling, the two friends followed their noses until they came to a room literally filled with food of every kind, piled high on the floor with only enough room at the edges for company to be seated. Despite how much food was there, though, that was not what caught their attention first. Sitting at one end of the food was a massive, bearded man wearing a helmet adorned with two ox horns. At his side was Chi-Chi, who was setting a final dish of dumplings down before she turned to greet the two demi-Saiyans. 

"There you are! Papa, you already know Goku, and that's his friend, Trunks. I invited them to eat lunch with us!" The seven year old girl walked up to Goten, grabbed his arm, and pulled him down to sit next to her on one side of the food, placing him between her and the Ox King. "Trunks, this is my father, the Ox King." 

"Well, hello there, Goku," the Ox King rumbled congenially. "It's nice to see you again. And I'm pleased to meet you, too, Trunks. Any friend of Goku's is a friend of mine! Please, be seated." Trunks nodded his head politely and sat between Goten and Ox King. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, sir." 

Feeling very awkward about having his mom holding his arm like like she was, Goten reached up with his free hand and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But I'm not Goku," he said as he tried to pull away from Chi-Chi. "I'm his so-ow!" Before Goten could finish his statement, Trunks bopped him lightly on the head to shut him up. Well, lightly for a Saiyan, anyway. "What'd you do that for, Trunks?!" Rubbing his sore head gingerly, the spiky haired boy glared at his best friend with a hurt look in his eyes. 

"Hey, don't hit Goku!" Chi-Chi snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. Then what 'Goku' had said sank in and she turned her gaze on the boy she thought was her future husband. "And what do you mean, you're not Goku? Who else would you be?" 

Goten opened his mouth again to explain, but Trunks beat him to it. "That's Goten. He's Goku's twin brother. _Right_, Goten?" The lilac haired demi gave his friend a meaningful look. _Just go with it, Goten. We don't need to have your mom find our you're her future son! It'd take too long to explain, and then she'd probably start acting like she does when she thinks about Gohan and Videl giving her grandchildren!_

Fortunately for the both of them, Goten had enough sense to agree with Trunks, or was just in the habit of always following his friend's lead. "Uh huh! Goku's my twin brother." Flashing the girl with his best Son Grin (TM), he finally managed to extricate his arm and edged away from his chibi mother. 

"Goku never mentioned that he had a twin brother," Chi-Chi said, eyeing Goten and Trunks suspiciously. "And you're carrying his staff on your back." Pointing at the end of the red pole that poked above the eight year old's shoulder, her face took on a triumphant expression. "How do you explain that, huh?" 

"Oh, that's easy!" Goten laughed, glad that for once he had been asked something that he could answer without risking saying something compromising. "Goku and I traded clothes, and he lent me his nyoibo, so we could see if anyone could tell us apart. An' he didn't know about me until a few days ago, so that's why he didn't tell you." 

The raven haired girl blinked in surprise as she mentally examined Goten's statements for any holes or lies. "But why wouldn't he know about you?" 

"Goku got separated from his family when he was a baby," Trunks cut in, figuring that his friend wouldn't be able to explain this part without giving something away. "He was raised by his Grandpa Gohan, so he didn't know he had any other family until we met him a few days ago." 

"Oooh." She nodded to herself as it suddenly all made sense, then smiled brightly at Trunks. "So then, are you related to my Goku, too? You have a tail just like him, and Goten, too!" 

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Trunks's head and the boy rolled his eyes. First Goku, then Bulma, now Chi-Chi; it seemed like everyone was assuming that he was related to Goku because he had a tail. "No, I'm not related to Goku. I just happen to have a tail like him. Purely coincidence." 

"Ahem," the deep voice of the Ox King interrupted before Chi-Chi could continue her interrogation. "Now that we've cleared up this little misunderstanding, could we eat? The food's getting cold, and I'm starving!" Not waiting to see if anyone had paid any attention to him, he reached out and grabbed a bowl of pork buns, promptly popping two into his mouth at the same time. 

Only too happy to oblige, Goten and Trunks dove into the food with a will, eating with a speed and thoroughness that only Saiyans could pull off. A startled Ox King and Ox Princess openly gaped as the two blissfully stuffed their faces. "Oh... my..." the little girl murmured to herself, picking up a bowl of rice that seemed so measly in comparison to the proportions of food that her two guests were consuming. Each boy was easily out-eating the Ox King himself, despite the fact that he was probably ten times larger than either of them. 

"What brings you boys around here, anyway?" the oversized sovereign asked between bites. 

Goten and Trunks looked up from their food, their cheeks puffed out with food. Exchanging glances, they swallowed simultaneously. "We're looking for a dragonball-" Goten said. 

"And the radar said there was a dragonball here-" Trunks added. 

"And then we met Chi-Chi and she invited is in to lunch-" the spiky haired chibi continued. 

"And we were hungry," the older boy carried on, "and since Goku's told us about your daughter, we wanted to meet her-" 

"So now we're here," Goten finished. The two had spoken so quickly, one after the other, that the whole exchange had sounded like one long sentence. Both boys took a deep breath, then simultaneously reached for more food as Chi-Chi and her father blinked owlishly at their explanation. 

"You're looking for a dragonball? You mean like the one your brother was after the last time I met him?" Ox King asked Goten, setting aside the pork buns in favor of a basket of buttered rolls. When Goten nodded in the affirmative, his mouth too full to even mumble a response, the giant turned towards his daughter. "Chi-Chi, didn't you say you found a little orange ball like that?" 

"Uh huh! I found it out in the woods, and it made me think of Goku, so I kept it! I'll go get it for you!" The girl stood up and darted out of the room, returning after a few moments with a small orange-red ball in hand. She smiled happily as she handed it to Goten. "Here you go! You can have this if you promise to remind Goku that he said he'd marry me!" 

Goten and Trunks sweatdropped in unison, and the black haired boy chuckled nervously even as he accepted the ball from his mother. Upon closer examination, he found that there was one star floating in the center of the sphere, winking faintly with reflected light. "Umm... thank you, Chi-Chi," Goten said, tucking the object into his gi so he wouldn't lose it. "I promise I'll tell my d-er.. my brother." It felt _really_ odd to be talking to his mother this way, not to mention the fact that he had just vowed to remind his father to marry her! 

Inwardly laughing at the whole situation, Trunks was struggling to maintain a straight face. "We really need to be going," he said, glancing out the window to see that the sun was well past the midway point and was on its way to the western horizon. "Goku got hurt, you see, and we need to get his medicine to him." 

Chi-Chi clapped her hands to her mouth in horror. "Goku's hurt?! Oh how terrible!" In a change of moods faster than the eye could perceive, she scowled at the two older boys. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Goku needs that medicine! You have to go give it to him now! He still has to marry me, you know!" Grabbing each boy by a hand, she began to drag them out of the room and towards the door. "If I find out that he died because you two took too long to get his medicine-" 

"Don't worry, Chi-Chi!" Trunks cut in, not exactly keen on hearing whatever threat the fiery tempered girl might have in mind should they fail in their mission. "We won't let anything like that happen! See? We're going right now!" Pulling away from the little girl, he immediately took to the air, pausing only long enough to wave goodbye. 

"Thanks for the food, mom, it was _really_ good!" Goten chirped as he blasted off after his friend. "Byeeee!!!" 

It was a very stunned Chi-Chi who stood staring at the two rapidly diminishing specks in the sky. In the past two seconds, she'd just received two shocking revelations: Goten and Trunks could fly, and... 

"Mom?" she whispered, her eyes wide. She blinked once. Twice. "Naaah. He must have made a mistake." 

~*~ 

After much deliberation, I've decided I probably won't write any more scenes with Chi-Chi in them. I have reasons, but I just don't feel like listing them off. 

*sighs happily* I've been waiting to write this chapter for _forever_! The first scene, anyway. ^_^ *cuddles her poor, injured Goku* Awwww.... 

*stares sadly at the charred remains of a reviewer* Darn it all... I don't even know how many of you Vegeta blasted! Now no one will review my story. *sniffles* If any of you survived the wrath of Vegeta, lemme know (along with a normal review. ^_^) 

**_Story Advertising_**

"What if..." by PurePsychicEspeon, story id 440399, is a story about Gohan being pulled into Mirai Trunks timeline while he's fighting Bojack. Mirai Gohan has just died fighting the androids. How will Gohan's presence in the Mirai world affect the timeline? This is a really good story! Go read it. ^_^ 


	47. Nightmares

Disclaimer: I'm fresh out of creative ideas for disclaimers. Guess that means you guys are stuck with the plain vanilla disclaimer, huh? Oh well, here goes: I don't own DBZ. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Nightmares) 

_Blood... blood everywhere... guilt... fear... despair... grief... pain... hopelessness..._

_Death._

_A teenage boy's corpse lay on the ground, broken, bloody, torn, twisted, and tortured. His death had been gruesome and painful, drawn out for days before his body had finally given out. His screams still echoed in the oppressive, smoke-laden air, trapped by the billowing clouds that blotted out the sun. Smoldering fires burned in the distance, their orange light casting a ghastly glow on the carnage depicted in the scene around him._

_Shift._

_On the cracked, barren, and dusty soil near the teenager, a little child, barely seven years old, lay draped over a sharp, craggy pile of rubble from what had once been a tall, proud building. He was barely recognizable as male, his body was so mutilated and shredded, as though some wild beast had mauled him and left his bloody remains to be pounded into the ground by a rockslide, or something equally as violent._

_Both boys were clearly, indisputably dead._

_Shift._

_A fist slugged itself into the face of the watcher, clouding his vision momentarily and throwing him to the ground. When his sight returned, he found that he was surrounded by an unknown number of people. Though he couldn't see their faces clearly, he knew that they were cold, unsympathetic, mocking, and disgusted. He struggled to get up, only to find that he couldn't move his arms or his legs because something bound them together. Someone behind him that he couldn't see picked him up by the back of his shirt, forcing him to face his attacker._

_The fist slammed itself into his face again, but this time he was kept from falling by the stranger behind him. His entire body was wracked with pain, beaten and broken almost as badly as the children's were. Blood dripped from a cut on his forehead into his eyes, further obscuring his vision to the point where he could barely make out the features of the person who had hit him._

_Another boy, but this one stood proudly, despite his small stature, his flame-like black hair adding a few inches in height. The child raised his hand again, face dispassionate as a ball of ki formed in front of his outright palm, but his eyes betrayed him. Even as he prepared to deliver the final blow to the prisoner, his eyes spoke of regret and remorse for what he was about to do. In the boy's dark eyes, the prisoner could see that he did not want to do this and yet, for some reason, had to. The boy's lips moved, but, strangely, the watcher couldn't hear what was said._

_Everything flashed a brilliant, blinding white as the searing ball of ki left its owner's hand and descended on its target._

With a jolt, Bardock woke up, cold sweat pouring down his face as the nightmare continued to replay in his head. He shivered violently and shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it of the images of Goku and Radditz as they lay in their separate pools of blood. Unconsciously grasping his sleeping son protectively, he trembled under the onslaught of emotions that the dream had evoked. _It was only a dream. Only a dream,_ he told himself, over and over, squeezing his eyes closed as he buried his face in his son's hair. _I've just been so worried about Goku dying that it got translated into an exaggerated nightmare. That's all. _Shivering again, he couldn't help but lift his head up so he could look at his peacefully sleeping son, examining him to make sure that he was truly alive and unharmed, beyond the injuries he'd already received. 

True to his assumption, the chibi Saiyan was quite well, sleeping with a contented look on his face. At some point during the time that Bardock had been dozing off the older Saiyan's tail had found its way into the boy's grasp, and now Goku had the tip in his mouth and was sucking on it in his sleep, a gesture that made him seem years younger, a baby in his father's lap. Giving a happy sigh, the little boy snuggled closer to his father's warm chest. 

A shuddering wave of relief washed over him and he blinked back the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. _It was only a dream,_ he firmly repeated a final time, irritated with himself for reacting so badly to some bit of nonsense cooked up by his overstressed brain. Shoving the whole matter to the back of his mind, he concentrated on the tiny form cradled in his arms, unable to help the small smile that crept its way onto his lips at the sight of his son drooling all over his tail. He'd never held either of his sons like this when they were little, had never allowed them to get their hands on his tail, let alone place it in their mouths. He could recall feeling that it was humiliating to subject himself to their childish behavior, that it was soft and weak to show anything that might be interpreted as fondness for either of his offspring. 

Somewhere along the course of time, those opinions had changed, and he no longer felt the same way. Now he was content to let Goku continue to suck on his tail, happy to simply hold him in his arms, not caring anymore what kind of image he was projecting. A faint sense of sadness touched his heart as he thought on all the years of tail slobbering he had missed out on because he had never allowed himself to get close to his children. He almost wished that he could turn back time and do things differently, but then he and his sons would not be who they were today. For better or for worse, this was how things had turned out, and he was glad that he at least had his son now. 

Closing his eyes again, he inhaled deeply, then exhaled, simply enjoying the feel of holding his smallest son against his chest. The smile continued to play across his face, all concerns with the terrible dream forgotten as a deep sense of peace enveloped him. Giving his son a gentle squeeze, he opened his eyes- 

-and found that he was no longer in the room he had been in when he closed his eyes. 

~*~ 

Black. That was the predominant color in the half of the store where he and Bulma were now standing. Considering the mood Radditz was in, black was the perfect color. He could almost imagine that there was a little storm cloud floating over his head, he was that angry. Angry with the little onna for putting him through this humiliation, and angry with himself for letting her. And yet there didn't seem to be a damn thing he could do about it! He felt like a puppet with the blue haired girl holding the strings: Helpless and forced to do whatever she wanted. He still didn't know how she had done it. 

"How much longer is this supposed to take?" he growled impatiently as the store clerk fitted another piece of the ridiculous suit, checking the to make sure that coat hung correctly from his broad shoulders. The clerk, having long since gotten used to the boy's complaints, ignored him and continued with his work. Discovering an adjustment that needed to be made, he removed the coat and took it over to his work bench where he could alter it appropriately. 

"Don't be such a baby, Radditz," Bulma murmured, staring happily at the shirtless Saiyan standing on a stool in the middle of the formal wear shop. "It's only been half an hour, and you _do_ want it to fit right, don't you?" 

"I never wanted to wear the damn thing in the first place!" Radditz grated out through clenched teeth. "_You're_ the one who insisted on making me come to this damn store and making me stand here while this bakayaro takes his damn time dressing me up in _the most useless, uncomfortable, and constricting clothing in the known universe!!_" He was in a bad mood and he didn't care if everyone knew it or not. Hell, maybe the brat would get the idea that he was on the edge of blowing up the entire shopping complex and just let him go home! 

Glaring furiously at her crush, Bulma reached out and whacked him on the back of his head. Hard. Well, hard for her, anyway. Radditz didn't even flinch. "Watch your language, Radditz!" she snapped, her eyes flashing dangerously. "And tuxedos aren't useless! If you ever want to attend a formal dance, you'll have to wear one or they won't let you in!" Her voice was rising in pitch with each word until Radditz's ears began to start ringing. Wincing in pain, he attempted to raise his hands to cover his sensitive ears, only to find that he couldn't move one of them. The damn tailor was back and was now fitting a sleeve onto the body of the coat, pinning his arm to his side in the process. "And further more!" Bulma screeched, standing on tiptoe to bring her face closer to Radditz's. "If you keep yelling and embarrass me in front of all these people, I'm going to make your life a _miserable, living hell_!!!" For some reasons, she didn't seem to realize, or maybe she just didn't care, that she was screaming so loudly that the clothes on the racks were shaking violently, threatening to fall off their hangers. 

Radditz quailed under the intense fury that Bulma radiated from every square inch of her eleven year old body. Seeing this, Bulma nodded sharply and sat down in a chair to wait for the tailor to finish putting together the beautiful black and white tuxedo. The teenager sighed moodily and settled for glaring down at his bare feet. Unfortunately, that only served to remind him that they had yet to pick out shoes for this new outfit. Groaning miserably, the poor Saiyan boy could only close his eyes and hope that the torture would end soon, or that Kami would deign to arrange for a terrorist attack that would level the entire mall. Anything to escape this nightmare! 

~*~ 

Still holding Goku in his arms, Bardock blinked owlishly at the open, empty landscape that stretched out for as far as the eye could see. Well, not quite empty. He was standing in the middle of a flat stone stage surrounded by brick walls, and there was a building of some kind on one side. A lonely wind blew through the place, and suddenly the area around the arena was filled with people. Humans, he absently noted somewhere in the back of his mind. 

His attention was attracted by a furious battle being fought in the middle of the ring, not too far from where he was standing. One of the fighters was a bald man with three eyes, tall and well muscled from years of fighting. But it was the other that Bardock stared at. 

It was Goku. 

As the two battled furiously, apparently oblivious to the father and son standing in the ring, Bardock's mind struggled to make sense of what he was seeing. Glancing down at the child in his arms, then back at the boy who was dueling with the bigger man, he realized that it wasn't Goku. At least, not the same Goku he was holding. This other Goku was older, perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old, judging by how much he'd grown and how little baby fat he had. It was then that he realized that this had to be another one of his visions, and for once, it wasn't one predicting death and disaster. 

Having solved the mystery of what was going on, Bardock calmly walked out of the ring so he could get a better look at what was going on. Running his eyes over the crowd of spectators, he saw an older version of Bulma, a floating grey cat, and a short pig, along with the boy, Yamcha, that he had met briefly at the Kame house. The young fighter was wielding a pair of crutches, keeping the weight off his obviously broken leg. He also noted a man that looked like Muten Roshi with hair and the short, bald child, Krillen, observing from the waiting area behind the ring. Try as he might, though, Bardock was unable to find himself or Radditz anywhere. _That's odd. My son seems to be in some kind of fighting tournament, but I'm not watching? I wouldn't miss this unless I didn't have a choice in the matter. What could have happened to me that would keep me from watching my son fight?_

Still puzzling the matter over in his mind, he continued to follow the fight as the three-eyed man took to the air, shouting something down at his younger opponent. Goku stared up at his foe fearlessly and held his ground, despite whatever the man was yelling. For some reason, Bardock was unable to make out the words, though the dream-Goku seemed to hear them just fine. The human appeared to be powering up some kind of ki attack, and Bardock held his breath anxiously as the entire world flashed a brilliant, blinding white- 

-and he was back in the room where the vision had begun, still sitting in the chair with his seven year old son sleeping in his arms. 

A feeling of melancholy swept over him as he thought back on what he had just witnessed. _Why is it that for all of my visions, I'm only present for the terrible things? Why can't I ever be there for the good things? _Getting up out of the chair, he paced up and down the length of the room, still carrying Goku, his mind preoccupied with the vision. Idly, he wondered how the match had ended. He hadn't been able to see how his son had reacted to that last attack the human had thrown at him. The light had been to bright to see anything clearly. 

Frowning, Bardock stopped pacing and looked out the window, not really seeing the world outside. _That light... it was exactly like the light that ended that nightmare..._ Thinking about the nightmare caused him to shiver and turn away from the window. The dream had been so _real_, down to the pain of Vegeta's fist connecting with his face. He'd never had a dream that realistic before. _It was only a dream,_ he inwardly repeated the phrase like a mantra. _It was... only... a dream....?_ Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he stared off into space, his mind's eye flashing through the horrible scenes of his sons' dead bodies, and of the beating he'd received at the hands of his prince. It _had_ been real. _Too_ real. In fact, it had been as real as the vision of the tournament that he had just had, beyond the fact that he hadn't been able to hear what Vegeta had been saying. 

But, then, the same thing had happened in the vision of Goku's tournament. 

Unbeknownst to Bardock, tears began to form in his eyes, making silver trails down the sides of his face. "No..." he whispered to himself. "It can't be a vision! It... just can't!" His mind numbly grasped at any possible reason that the nightmare couldn't be a vision, but came up blank. The dream bore all the earmarks of his other visions and there were too many parallels between it and the vision that had followed afterwards to be ignored. And yet, it made no sense! "How can they both be visions, when they contradict each other?" he muttered, his eyebrows drawing together in a look of intense confusion and frustration. "In the first one, Goku dies as a seven year old, whereas the second one shows him alive and well and several years older. They can't _both_ happen!" He thought briefly on the possibility that perhaps Goku hadn't been dead in the first vision, just mortally wounded. It would explain why he and Radditz hadn't been at the tournament if they'd both died while Goku recovered and went on to compete in that tournament. It was a logical enough explanation. 

Then he remembered the state of seven year old's body during the nightmare. Tail ripped off and lying limply in the dirt next to him, gaping holes in his stomach and chest, and a slit throat, along with many other injuries that would prove fatal if left untended, and Bardock came to the firm, undeniable, and heart wrenching conclusion that his son could not have survived the torture that had been inflicted on his young body in the vision. Squeezing his eyes shut, tears still leaking out of them, he desperately clutched Goku as tightly as he dared without waking or hurting the boy, his mind reeling under the shock and confusion the two visions caused. 

That was how he remained for the next hour, hunched protectively over the sleeping child that he held in his arms even as he silently cried while seated on the edge of the bloodstained bed. 

~*~ 

If you're confused, don't worry. That was my intention. I'll probably end up dragging the explanation out over the course of a few chapters, maybe even the rest of the story. By the way, I'm not vilifying Vegeta. If you think I'm making him into a villain again, go back and read the line about his eyes. 

Saiyantamer- What a silly question! Of COURSE you should write your own fic. ^_^ As for writing being a responsibility... Writing is not a chore unless you let it be. I constantly have to remind myself that I'm writing this story purely for my own entertainment (well, I like to think that I'm entertaining you guys, too...) I write because I WANT to, not because I HAVE to. And I only update so frequently because I have no life to speak of and writing is about the only thing I have to do to keep myself from going insane with boredom. ^_^ 

Fortunately for me, most of my reviewers survived Vegeta's little outburst. Yay! Sorry about those of you he killed. *gathers dragonballs and wishes all her reviewers back to life* Great! Now you can review again! *hint hint* *Son Puppy Eyes (TM)* *grins* 


	48. Healing

Congratulations to silmir for being reviewer number 1100! *pulls out her handy dandy Magic Bag O' Rewards (TM)* *reaches in and grabs a random reward* Er.... it's a box of Bardock toothpicks... Umm... maybe that's not the best of rewards. *grins sheepishly* *stuffs the toothpicks into her pocket and grabs something else* Ahhhh, now THERE'S a reward! I'm jealous! *hands a cherry pie to silmir* Mmm... cherry pie... now I want to go bake something. *drools and wanders off* 

Disclaimer: *walks on stage, dragging a reluctant Radditz by the tail* Hiya! I decided that Radditz needs a turn under the spotlight, so here he is! *grins* 

Radditz: Let go of my tail! *blushes furiously* 

Brenda: *sticks out her tongue* Only if you promise to disclaim the chapter for me! 

Radditz: All right, all right! Brenda doesn't own DBZ or any of its respective characters. NOW LET GO OF MY TAIL! 

Brenda: *grins and releases the Saiyan teen's tail* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Healing) 

The excitement of obtaining both a pouch full of senzu beans and another dragonball had not worn off by the time Goten and Trunks arrived back at the capsule house. In fact, they raced around outside for a full minute, chasing each other in a swift game of tag, before they felt calm enough to storm the house without breaking too many things. Giggling insanely, they were too distracted to bother using their ki senses to see who was in the house, and so they raced blindly into the room where Bardock was sitting with Goku. 

Seeing the older Saiyan sitting on the bed with the little seven year old in his arms brought the two boys up short. With guilty consciences, they suddenly remembered that they were supposed to have been watching over the little chibi, but had, instead, left him in Vegeta's care. The thought of Vegeta actually watching over Goku was... unlikely, to say the least. Goten and Trunks gulped simultaneously and nervously approached Bardock, knowing that he couldn't be very pleased with their irresponsibility. It was too late now, though, so they might as well hear what their punishment was. 

Surprisingly, Bardock didn't so much as blink when the two demi-Saiyans came into his field of vision. He continued to sit on the edge of the bed, holding a naked Goku in his arms, his eyes wide and unseeing. His entire body was twitching or shivering, Goten couldn't decide which, and he seemed completely unaware of the fact that his tail was now in the mouth of the boy in his arms. 

"Grandpa?" Goten asked, suddenly concerned. When Bardock didn't respond, he glanced over at Trunks, then floated up to eye level with his grandfather. This close to the Saiyan's face, he could see that the pupils in his eyes had disappeared, leaving a blank, white space where they had once been. "Grandpa?" The eight year old's voice was tinged with panic now, and he waved a hand frantically in front of Bardock's face. "Grandpa, wake up!" No reaction. Goten tapped his grandfather on the shoulder, then tugged his green shirt in a vain hope that maybe physical contact would snap him out of whatever was happening to him. "Grandpa!" 

Trunks lifted himself off the ground so that he could get a closer look at Bardock's face. One look at Goku had told him that he was still alive and relatively well, so it couldn't be that Bardock was in a grief-stricken stupor. Hoping that perhaps a second voice talking to him would elicit a reaction from the warrior, Trunks added a verbal plea of his own. "Bardock-san? Are you all right?" Unfortunately, it didn't seem that Bardock could hear either of them, since he didn't show any signs of a reaction to either of their voices. 

"Trunks! What's wrong with my grandpa? Why won't he wake up?" The little chibi was nearly in tears, and he reached out to grasp his grandfather's shoulder, shaking him as roughly as he dared without knocking him over. Still there was no response. 

"I don't know, Goten! I've never seen him like this! I've never seen _anyone_ like this!" Gnawing on his lip with worry, the lavender haired boy anxiously ran through his mind all the things that might possibly be wrong with Bardock, but came up blank on any one thing that matched the symptoms. "Hey, Goten, try giving him a senzu bean! They're supposed to be able to heal almost anything, after all, so maybe it'll cure whatever's wrong with him." 

The younger chibi brightened visibly and dug a hand into his gi in search of the pouch containing the precious senzu beans. "Great idea, Trunks!" Upon finding the bag, he quickly dumped a bean out into his open palm, tossing the bag and the rest of the beans to the bed. Still floating in the air, he used his other hand to pry Bardock's mouth open and was about to place the bean in the man's mouth. 

With a gasp, Bardock shuddered and his eyes returned to normal, his whole body trembling like a leaf in a storm. "No!" he cried out, almost as if he were in great pain or mental turmoil. Goten jumped in surprise, the small bean in his hand slipping through his fingers to bounce on the floor. Gulping down a sudden lump of fear that formed in his throat, he found that his grandfather was staring at him with haunted black eyes. Breathing heavily, the older Saiyan choked out, "It can't happen like that, Goku. I won't let it happen that way." 

"Grandpa?" Goten asked uncertainly. "Grandpa, I'm Goten. You're holding Goku in your lap." Bardock blinked and stared at his grandson for a moment, then glanced down at the boy in his arms. As the last vestiges of the vision left him, he shivered and shook his head in denial of what he had seen. "Grandpa, are you all right? What _happened_?" Tears sparkled in the little boy's eyes which he hastily wiped away, only to be replaced by more tears. 

"I... I... " The Saiyan's gaze shifted from his grandson's face to the concerned face of the other little demi-Saiyan in the room. Both boys stared back at him expectantly, waiting for him to give them an explanation that would allay their fears. Looking down at his son, he inwardly cringed. How could he tell them that he could see the future, and that he had just seen the destruction of their world and the deaths of everyone on the planet? How could he tell them about the horrible torture and ultimate deaths of his two sons that he had just witnessed? About his own, painful death at the hands of the child who was sleeping a few rooms away? "I... can sometimes see the future," he finally said, reluctance dragging at his voice. "And when I'm having a vision, I can't hear or see anything that's going on around me." He half expected them to laugh derisively and claim he was making it up, but that wasn't the reaction he got. 

The eyes of the two chibis widened in awe at his words, and Trunks grinned broadly. "Cool! What did you see, Bardock-san??" They both leaned forward slightly, eager to hear all about this newly discovered ability. 

Somewhat surprised that they actually believed him, Bardock shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. "I don't really want to talk about it, Trunks. I'm... er... not certain about what exactly I saw," he lied, warily eyeing the boys to see if they believed him. Fortunately for him, it appeared that they did, though their faces were twin masks of disappointment. 

With his eyes on the floor, it only took Goten a moment to spot the senzu bean he had dropped. Giving a delighted laugh, he darted down and picked the thing up, turning to give his grandpa a triumphant look. "Grandpa! Me and Trunks got senzu beans! Now Goku won't die!" Grabbing hold of one of Bardock's hands, he thrust the bean into it, beaming the entire time. 

Bardock blinked owlishly, caught off guard by the reference to Goku dying so soon after his visions concerning that very same thing. The vision he had at first thought a nightmare had come back again, more extensive and graphic than before, allowing him to see every detail of every event leading up to the deaths of his sons and himself, among other things. A shudder swept over his body, and he quickly jerked his mind back to the situation at hand, using the dawning joy of being able to heal his son to wipe away those dark thoughts. His face breaking open in a wide grin, he gently removed his slobbery tail from his son's mouth and he rubbed the boy's cheek in an effort to waken him a little. "Come on, Goku, wake up. We have something for you!" 

Murmuring discontentedly at having the tail pulled from his mouth, Goku yawned and pressed his face into Bardock's chest in an effort to sink further into the realm of sleep. Bardock smiled and rubbed his cheek again, a little more vigorously, until Goku sleepily opened his eyes. 

"Ohayoo, tousan," he mumbled tiredly, reaching one hand up to rub his bleary eyes. 

Knowing that it was sometime in the afternoon, Goku's greeting amused the older Saiyan. It was to be expected, of course, since the boy had only just woken up and couldn't have known what time it was, but he still found it funny for some reason. "Good 'morning' to you, too, sleepyhead," Bardock chuckled. "Here, eat this. It'll make you feel better." So saying, he popped the senzu bean into his son's mouth. 

With all the trust a son has in his father, Goku unquestioningly bit into the hard brown bean, chewed, and swallowed. His eyes suddenly widened and a gasp of surprise escaped his lips even as the small cuts and bruises that weren't hidden by bandages instantly vanished. The boy stared in amazement at his arms, then at the rest of his body, hesitantly reaching a hand down to gingerly touch the bandages covering the area where the hole had been in his side. Nothing. No pain at all! 

"Daddy, it doesn't hurt anymore!" the chibi laughed in delight, pressing against his once-injured side a little more firmly. Then he got a very startled look on his face and his eyes widened to their fullest in stunned awe and wonder. "And I'm not hungry, either!" 

Grinning from ear to ear from the simple pleasure of seeing his son well again, Bardock lifted the child off his lap and set him down on the bed. "Here, let's get these bandages off you and we can get you cleaned up," he said, pulling off the wrappings from the little Saiyan's lower torso to reveal pink, unbroken skin with a few smears of blood on it. He then undid the bindings on the splint that bound Goku's formerly broken right leg and deftly removed the strips of cloth along with the splint. Again, there was no trace of any kind of injury, besides the blood that had once seeped from the open wound. 

Goku lifted his leg up and wiggled his toes experimentally, grinning broadly at Trunks, Goten, and Bardock when there wasn't even a twinge of pain. Hopping off the bed and landing lightly on his feet, he jumped up and down a bit to test his newly healed body while the other three Saiya-jin in the room watched in happy amusement. The naked little boy ran around the room in a state of giddy hyperactivity, whooping loudly for all the world to hear. Chuckling as he watched his son's antics, Bardock finally stood up and snagged his son out of mid-stride, holding him out at arms length. 

"All right, you, it's time to get you cleaned up and dressed in some clean clothes," he said, smirking faintly as he looked into Goku's eyes. The boy had a look of mild disgust on his face, and his tail was curling and uncurling as it fought to express his glee at being healed again and his dismay at the thought of taking another bath. 

"Do I have to take a bath?" he pleaded. At Bardock's nod, he sagged a little bit and his tail hung limply. The warrior tucked the little Saiyan in the crook of his arm and carried him off towards the bathroom with Goten and Trunks tagging along close behind. 

Feeling sympathetic with his chibi-father's predicament, Goten suddenly piped up, "Hey, I'll take a bath with you, too! Taking baths is lots more fun with more people!" Seeing the other boy's face light up hopefully, the eight year old grinned and started pulling off his clothes while Bardock began to fill up the tub. 

"Me too! I'll take a bath, too, Goku!" Trunks chipped in, not one to be left out, and he, too, removed his clothing and hopped into the slowly filling tub. As the two black haired boys clambered in as well, all three grinned up at Bardock, who was suddenly looking not quite as pleased about the prospect of bath time with three chibis. "Will you take a bath with us, too, Bardock-san?" the lilac haired boy asked innocently, his eyes twinkling with mischief. 

"Pleeease?" Goten and Goku chimed in unison, giving him the patented Son Puppy Eyes. 

"There's plenty of room!" Goten added, followed quickly by Goku chirping, "And it'd be more fun!" 

"And you're dirty, too!" Trunks pointed at the various drops of blood that Bardock had gotten on himself and his clothing while holding Goku. 

Unable to deny their logic and their pleas, the warrior finally laughed in defeat and started pulling off his gi. "All right, you win. I'll take a bath with you, too." Tugging off the weighted shirt, wrist bands, and boots, he cautiously stepped into the tub and was immediately tackled by three wet boys. 

"YAY!!!" 

As he struggled under their combined weight, he awkwardly turned the faucets off and sat down, Trunks and Goten hanging off either arm and Goku sitting in his lap, his short, chubby arms wrapped as far around Bardock's torso as they would go. With twin gleams of mischief in their eyes, the two demi-Saiyans simultaneously shoved the older man's head under the water with all the power that the two untransformed chibis could muster. Goku grinned and added in his part of the fun by tickling his father's ribs furiously even as his two friends held him under the water. Bardock's body jerked and convulsed as he tried not to laugh under water and was just about to give in despite himself when Goten and Trunks let his head come up, gasping for breath. 

Giving the trio a playful glare, he snatched all three up in a giant bear hug, grinning fiercely as he dunked them underwater. He held them there until they began to wriggle, then brought them up for air, laughing genuinely for the first time in what felt like eternity. With a last squeeze, he released them into the water and splashed them with his tail as he leaned back against the wall of the tub. 

Still giggling, Goten and Trunks each grabbed a bar of soap and set about lathering themselves up while Goku waded over to his father and threw his arms around his neck. "Thank you, daddy," he whispered, a smile on his lips and a hint of tears in his eyes. He didn't need to say what he was thanking Bardock for. They both knew. 

Bardock patted his son on the back, a gentle smile softening his features, and held him like that for a moment before reaching for a bar of soap. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." 

~*~ 

In case you couldn't tell from the last few chapters, I've been feeling fluff deprived. ^_^ Writing sugary, sweet, fluffy scenes is one of my fortes, I'm told, and I've been trying not to write too many for fear of turning my characters to mush! But Goku nearly dying and then waking up and getting healed is the perfect excuse for some nice, cottony fluff. ^_^ 

*laughs* And I'm still leaving you all in the dark about those two visions! As I said, it'll probably take me a few chapters to fully explain it. I'll tell you this, though: Most of you who have guessed are either partially correct or waaay off. One person was pretty close, though. Not telling who. ^_^ Feel free to keep guessing! 

Please review! (Heh, I'm back to my old lines again!) 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Scars of the Past: The Life Story of Son Gohan" by Frozenflower, story id 664931, is a story that delves into the world of What If, where Gohan had been successfully kidnapped by Radditz and give to Frieza when he was four years old. How would Gohan be changed, when he finally returned to Earth and his family four years later? Can he ever be healed? It's a Gohan/Videl eventually. Really good story! 


	49. Shopping Woes

Ha! I'm back from the depths of writer's block and have emerged triumphant once again! It's not that I didn't know what to write, it's just that I had no will to write it. I had no real will to write at _all_, so instead I drew chibi (and other) DBZ art! Ha! I bet most of you didn't even know I was an artist! Well, you might have read my profile and seen a mention of it, but few of you have actually _seen_ my art. I have a web page now, so you can go take a look at the things I've drawn. You just have to take a look at my profile for the URL. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it. Probably never will own DBZ. *sighs* Anyway, have a few other things to disclaim in this chapter. I don't own Twi. That character belongs to Frozenflower. 

Frozenflower: Yay! You let me keep my self-insertion! 

Brenda: *chuckles* Yeah, I'm such a nice person. ^_^ Also, Frozenflower wrote _most_ (not all) of the Radditz/Bulma shopping torture in this chapter because I was having writer's block about it all. I tweaked it a bit, added a few pieces and paragraphs and so forth, and changed some of the wording to fit the style of my story, but she wrote the base material. Thank you, Frozenflower! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Shopping Woes) 

Finally! They were finally done fitting Radditz for that tuxedo! He had thought that the torture would never end, and it had certainly seemed like time had suddenly decided it had a personal grudge against him, but the tailor had eventually finished putting the various pieces of the ridiculous suit together. After what seemed an eternity, a very relieved Radditz and a self-satisfied Bulma walked out of the store and back into the main halls of the complex, Bulma carrying the capsule that contained Radditz's new clothing and the shoes they'd picked out for him. 

As the Saiyan's stomach so kindly reminded him, it was well after noon, and he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning, a pleasant memory that had been all but forgotten in the back of the teenager's mind. Passing by an area of the mall where food was sold, his keen Saiya-jin sense of smell picked up the aromas of hundreds of different kinds of Earth foods, and they all smelled wonderful. Unfortunately, it looked like Bulma was bent on visiting yet another store since she didn't even pause as they passed by the food court. 

"Umm... Bulma? Can we get something to eat now?" All right, so he was pleading. He honestly didn't care at this point. His pride had already suffered far worse blows today than mere begging could inflict, and, damn it, he was hungry! Taking a leaf from his nephew's book, he decided to attempt one of the Son Puppy Eyes (TM) that seemed to work so well for Goten. Radditz widened his eyes a little and tried to look as pathetic as possible, quickening his pace so he could stare directly in Bulma's face. He inwardly cringed at what he was about to do next, but hunger easily triumphed over the last vestiges of his dignity, and he added, "Please??" 

Bulma frowned as she thought it over. She hadn't had anything to eat yet, either, and since Saiyans needed food more than humans did, she could only guess how he must be feeling right now. However, she also knew how _much_ they could eat, and she didn't want to spend the next hour or so watching Radditz wolf down one larger helping of food after another. "How about this?" she said, stopping so she could meet the other boy's eyes. She nearly cracked up when she saw the expression he was trying to pull, thinking privately to herself that he either just wasn't cut out for Son family expressions, or he needed to work on his puppy dog eyes. What he'd ended up with was a kind of sickened, grimace with a pleading tone to it. "We'll go to one more store, and then we'll get as much food as you want." The bill would be enormous - nothing she couldn't handle - but it was the best way to bribe her crush into putting up with the delay that visiting one more store would create. 

Torn between the desire to eat _now_ and the thought of eating as much food as he wanted, Radditz hesitated for a moment. Finally, his shoulders slumped wearily, and he conceded, "Fine, we'll go to one more store, so long as we get to eat _immediately_ afterwards." 

Grinning from the thrill of victory, Bulma grabbed hold of Radditz's hand and dragged him off down the crowded hall. "Great! Now, there's this really good sports shop I want to take you! It's called "Biker Glory" and they have the _best_ sports clothing, accessories, and equipment! They specialize mainly in biking, but they dabble in a few other sports as well. Come on, it's not too far!" 

Not really knowing why they were going to a sports store, Radditz simply shrugged and allowed himself to be led towards the store in question. He didn't participate in any of these Earth sports, the only plausible reason perusing a sports shop that he could see, so he couldn't imagine what Bulma wanted to go there for, though he thought he heard her mutter something about 'spandex biker shorts' to herself. Shaking his head ruefully, he watched as the crazy little onna darted away into the crowded rack of sports clothes. With any lucky, she'd get lost in there and never come back. 

Radditz made his way carefully through the store display racks of bicycles, gazing at the strange contraptions curiously. He really had no idea why anyone would want to use such an odd mode of transportation in the first place, but he decided that it was probably more geared towards recreation rather than travel. 

Sitting behind the desk, Twi, saleswoman extraordinaire, spied a likely victi-er-customer. "There's a sucker born every minute," she murmured, sauntering sweetly over to the young man who was examining a pricy 10 speed. Radditz blinked fearfully as a predatory grin came over the saleswoman's face. Why were all these Earth women so intent on chasing him around? "Why don't you hop on and give it a try?" Twi asked the twitching teen. 

Confusion swept over the Saiyan for a moment, then relief as he saw that the girl was referring to the bicycle. With a little shrug, Radditz hopped onto the seat. After all, how hard could it be? 

Seventeen knocked over bicycles, a dozen toppled displays, two nearly injured customers, and one irate salesperson later, Bulma finished helping Radditz pull his hair out of the bicycle spokes and hastily yanked the spooked Saiyan out of the store, weaving through the small crowd of curious onlookers that had gathered ever since Radditz had first begun accidentally wreaking of havoc. 

"AND DON'T COME BACK!" 

Bulma winced. Perhaps shopping with Saiyans was more hazardous to her shopping habits than she'd previously supposed. Sighing, she couldn't even find it in her heart to be angry with Radditz, especially as miserable as he was looking right now. It really hadn't been his fault, from what she could tell. It had just been an accident. Or, rather, a _lot_ of accidents. She had to stifle a chuckle as she recalled how he had ridden that bicycle right into the mountain bike sections and had the whole rack fall on top of him, trapping him and entangling his hair. If it had happened to anyone else, it would be cause for serious concern, but since it was Radditz, meaning he wouldn't be injured, it was utterly hilarious. Except for the fact that it had gotten her banned from a store. She was going to have to talk to Radditz about that later. Right now... 

A rather loud growl from the teenager's stomach pointedly reminded both of them about the promise Bulma had made to Radditz before the whole biker story fiasco. "Can we eat now?" Radditz whimpered. 

"All right, fine, we'll go eat now," Bulma said, smiling faintly as she reflected that Radditz was getting better with his puppy dog eyes. When he did that, it really made her want to just give him a hug, he was that cute! Fortunately for him, she held back on her impulse and led him off to the food court. 

~*~ 

While the three boys toweled themselves to a state of semi-dryness, Bardock was examining their clothing - or lack thereof in Goku's case - and determined that they all needed to be washed. Fortunately for them, Bardock _did_ have that capsule containing some of the children's clothing Bulma had picked out, so they at least had something to change into. Unfortunately for himself, the capsule had nothing _but_ chibi clothes. Except for one outfit his size that had somehow gotten mixed in with the pile of chibi clothing that Bulma had capsulized. Recalling that rainbow tie-dye shirt, he winced. Maybe it would be better to just wear the green gi, even if it was a little bloody. 

Picking up the gi to put it back on, he despairingly noticed just how much blood had gotten on it while he had been holding Goku. As clean as he was feeling after that bath, and considering it was _Goku's _blood, he suddenly realized he did not want to wear that gi. With a regretful sigh, he dropped the gi back to the floor in the pile of clothing. It looked like it would be tie-dye and blue jeans for him after all. 

On a second thought, he gathered up the three gis, blue, orange, and green, as well as his weighted clothing, preparing to take them to the laundry room, to be washed with the bandages when Bulma returned. Tossing the capsule with their clothing to Trunks, he said, "There are some new clothes in there for you three, but there's probably too many things in that capsule for you to safely open it in here. Take it to the den and open it there, so you boys can get dressed. I'm going to take these things to the laundry room." When the three chibis murmured their various forms of acquiescence, Bardock padded out of the bathroom and walked towards the laundry room. 

~*~ 

Yawning sleepily, Vegeta raised one hand to rub a little sleepy-dust out of his eyes, then wriggled back into the warm blankets that surrounded him. Wait a minute. Blankets? _I thought I was in that chair by Kakarot's bed... how did I end up _in_ a bed?_ As awareness stole over his sleep-fuzzed mind, he sat up in the bed and looked around, ascertaining that he was still in the capsule house, but in a different room from the one he last recalled being in. _That's odd... I don't remember falling sleep, much less going to another room to do so..._

Feeling slightly disoriented, the young prince crawled out of the bed and, yawning again, stumbled towards the door. He was feeling a little hungry - well, more than a little - and Saiyans always thought better on a full stomach. He would get something to eat and then he'd tried to figure out how he had managed to move from one room to another without realizing it. As distracted as he was, and since he hadn't completely woken up yet, he didn't even notice the three damp and naked boys racing down the hallway until after they crashed into him. 

Vegeta cursed rather harshly as he suddenly found himself at the bottom of a pile of chibis, now fully awake and rather ticked off. With a few more choice phrases from his arsenal of foul language, he roughly extricated himself from the tangle of arms and legs that consisted of the other boys. Standing up and brushing himself off, the ten year old glowered down at the offending boys, who were also picking themselves up off the floor and hastily apologizing. 

"Kisama!! Why don't you watch where you're going!?" He would have added a some ear singeing curses, but then he caught sight of Goku and Goten. Unfortunately, since neither one was wearing any clothing at the moment, it was impossible to tell them apart. Glaring from one to the other, he finally turned to Trunks and asked, "When did that baka Kakarot get better?" 

Trunks gave a fair imitation of the famous Son Grin (TM) and rubbed the back of his neck, somewhat embarrassed about running into his chibi father like that. "Me and Goten went to Karin's tower to get some senzu beans. We got back a little while ago and Bardock gave one of them to Goku." 

Putting on his best scowl, the young prince folded his arms across his chest, his tail lashing back and forth in annoyance. "And just where were you three off to in such a hurry?" he growled, still angry about being run over. 

"Grandpa got new clothes and since our old ones are dirty and we just took a bath, we get to wear the new ones!" Goten chattered excitedly, dancing from one foot to the other in anticipation. "Wanna come with us and see what Bulma and grandpa bought?" Not waiting for Vegeta's answer, the black haired chibi dashed eagerly down the hall towards the den, pulling Goku behind him. Trunks glanced at his father briefly, then took off after them, not wanting to be left out of the fun. 

Vegeta grumbled to himself while staring balefully down the hall where the three boys had disappeared, but eventually gave in to his curiosity. He really didn't have anything better to do, and he _was_ slightly interested in seeing the new acquisitions, so he started after the three Saiyan children until he came to the den. They'd already opened the capsule containing the new clothing and were happily rummaging through the plethora of brightly colored chibi clothing that had quickly been scattered all over the room. Most of the various shirts were so bright, in fact, that it nearly hurt just to look at them! Sprinkled amidst the tie-dyed shirts, rainbow colored prints, and assorted pants and shorts were a few normally colored gis, shirts and pants, which the three boys neglected in favor of admiring the more eye wrenching clothes. 

A feeling of uncertainty suddenly fluttered in the pit of Vegeta's stomach. All his life he had remained aloof from those around him. He was the Saiya-jin no Ouji, so he was naturally better than everyone else. It wouldn't do to associate with the common rabble, or even most of the palace staff. His father and Frieza had been the only ones to hold any sort of power over him, but they never interacted with him beyond what was necessary. In Frieza's case, that was no big loss, but he sometimes secretly wished that his father had shown just a little more emotion towards his son. Why King Vegeta had remained apart from his son, be it from preoccupation with ruling the Saiyan race or simply the normal barrier between adults and children, Prince Vegeta didn't know, but it had meant that he had no equals. He had essentially been alone all his short life. 

Until now. 

In the same room as him were three boys who treated him as their equal. Not their better, not their lesser, but equal. Trunks and Goten, being Super Saiya-jin, were far more powerful than Vegeta. It still irritated the young prince somewhat to accept the fact that the grandson of a third class soldier could _ever_ surpass him, but he had adjusted to it now. Trunks being stronger than Vegeta no longer bothered him, since the boy was, after all, his future son. Both boys treated him as an equal because they either didn't care about strength, or because they knew what Vegeta would one day be capable of. Then there was the third child. Goku. Goku was pathetically weak compared to even his brother, Radditz, but had the potential to become much stronger than he was now. And yet he didn't seem to realize that there was any difference between him and Vegeta. He treated everyone as an equal simply because he didn't care about strength in terms of how he interacted with others. It was an odd concept for Vegeta to understand, and yet that was the way Goku was. 

As he continued to watch them, a part of him wanted to go join the three in their fun, to sort through the shirts and pants in search of something that would suit his tastes, make jokes about some of the wilder articles of clothing, and participate in their casual rough housing. Something inside him longed to play with other children, to be able to laugh and have fun and not care about who was stronger. He had never had the opportunity to do so before, but he did now. He was in the presence of three boys who would accept him as their equal, if he would only allow himself to think of them in the same way. All he had to do was swallow his pride. 

Vegeta had never faced a more difficult challenge in his whole life. 

Still staring longingly at the three children thoroughly enjoying themselves, the little Saiyan Prince waged a silent war within himself. Pride, dignity, and every one of the ten years of his royal upbringing dictated that he should just turn around and leave. But there was a terrible, lonely ache in his heart that tugged at him, pulling him towards the other children. A small lump formed in his throat, and he made his decision. 

~*~ 

It was all Bulma could do to keep herself from gaping in amazement as Radditz chomped down on his dozenth hotdog. She'd seen it before, but each time was a new opportunity for confoundment. Seeing a Saiyan eat was like watching a sunset, except considerably messier. Each experience was unique, involving a palette of colors that was unrivaled in all of nature. 

Radditz's palette now consisted of ketchupy-red and a bright mustard yellow, with just a splash of green and white from the relish and onions. 

Spread out over three of the small food court tables were Radditz's previous works. The delightfully orangey-yellow of sweet and sour chicken, the cheerful remnants of devoured nachos, the crumpled and forlorn waxy papers that had once wrapped scrumptious hamburgers and tacos. Fortunately for the mall clean up crew, the teenager was a neat eater. Only bits of gooey mayonnaise and relish that had somehow found their way into his black mane stood as evidence of the mighty feasting that had just occurred. 

_Where does it all go?_ Bulma wondered for the thousandth time. Shaking herself out of her daze, the blue haired girl looked at her watch, her eyes widening in shock. They had spent the entire day here! The mall was about to close! 

With a look of relief, the food court employees began hastily shutting down their respective restaurants. Not that there was much to clean up. Radditz had eaten most, if not all, of their stock, with the exception of the relieved staff at the ice cream parlor. For some reason, Radditz just didn't seem to have an appetite for ice cream. 

Slowly, Bulma pulled herself to her feet and latched onto Radditz's arm, dragging him towards the exit. The Saiyan protested a bit, claiming he was still hungry, and that she'd promised that he would get to eat as much as he wanted. With a groan, Bulma reflected that this was the first time in her life that she'd ever left a mall willingly. 

"Just shut up and get in the car," she said wearily as she popped the car out of its capsule and hopped into the driver's seat. Radditz, realizing that she wasn't planning on taking him to yet another store and was, in fact, going back home, could only too happily comply, wholeheartedly thanking the Earth's Kami that the ordeal was finally over. 

~*~ 

Well, that pretty much wraps up the Radditz mall torture. I know most of you loved it, but it was stressful for me to write because I'm not really a humor fiction author. I can write humor on inspiration, not whenever I want, which is why I had to call in Frozenflower so often for her help. There are literally tons of things I _could_ do to torture Radditz (and I am by no means done torturing him ^_^), but I'm not going to do all of them simply because I'd like to get back to the main story. If you want to see more Saiyan torture at the hands of Bulma, write your own fan fiction. ^_^ 

Tiffany- Yeah, inserting my reviewers into the Specials is fun, but I can't ever promise that I'll put you (or any other reviewer) into a Special. I do the Specials only on inspiration, because I don't really like the pointless-to-the-story Specials that many stories have. I make special note of the 100's reviewers both as a way to mark the progress of my story and its popularity and to, as you said, have fun with my reviewers. Specials are harder and require a lot of thought on my part (ahhh!!! No!! Must... not... think....!!!) and so they happen very irregularly. I only include one reviewer each time because if I brought in all the reviewers that wanted to be in my Special, I'd be swamped with characters to write in. Sorry. ^_^ 

*sweatdrops* The visions... everyone wants to know about the visions! Okay, here's the deal. It's going to take a long time to fully explain the visions in the story. I could just let you all learn about what the visions mean as the characters figure it out (which will take several chapters, by my guess), or I could write a special author note on my next chapter explaining what the deal with the visions is. If you have an opinion on whether I should spill the beans to you guys or not, let me know. 

I can no longer refer to that button in the corner as grey, seeing as how it's not grey for everyone. *grins* But if you would be so kind as to press that button, whatever color it may be, and give me a review, it'd make me so happy! I love my reviewers! And their wonderful reviews! And now I want to know what color button everyone has! So, when you review, would you also tell me what color your review button is? I'm just dying of curiosity now! ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

"My Grandpa's a Ghost!" by Angel Abi, story id 795141, is a BARDOCK fic! *grins* Bardock makes a request to see his still-living family and is permitted to, only they can't see him since he's a ghost. However, Goten can! Both of them, together with Trunks, will have an adventure none of them will forget. This story is really good so far! Go on, go read it! 

"Chronological Chaos" by Proteus, story id 793624, is a time traveling misadventure fic about teenage Trunks and Goten going to the past to escape some trouble and end up causing even _more_ trouble! Really, really good story! 

"Field Trip to Camp Hercule" by Angelic Aki, story id 587318, is a really good Gohan torture (the funny kind, not the angsty kind) fic. Videl hates Gohan, Gohan's scared of Videl! Naturally, they get stuck at a camp together for a week! How are the two teens going to survive together? Will Videl find out about Gohan's alter ego, Saiyaman? Lots of originality and a ton of humor, and she writes really long chapters. Trust me on this one, it's worth your time! 


	50. Explanations

After reading the responses from the reviewers about whether or not to explain the visions in an author note, I've decided to simply let the readers find out what the visions are about on their own. Sorry for those of you who are confused, but that's the way it is. 

Even though the title of this chapter is "Explanations," it is NOT an explanation of the visions. Sorry to mislead you. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: "Once upon a time there was a girl named Brenda who owned DBZ. She was able to enjoy all the fame, money, and adoration from fans that she ever wanted. And she lived happily ever after. The End." Unfortunately for me, that is nothing but a fairy tale. I really don't own DBZ, and can only dream that I might ever do so. ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Explanations) 

After depositing the laundry in the bin by the washing machine, Bardock went back to the bathroom to make sure that everything had been put back in place. Avoiding the puddles on the floor, he walked over to the tub and put the bars of soap in their holders, then capped the bottles of shampoo and set them on their shelf. With a final glance around the room, he nodded to himself and walked back out to the hall and headed towards the den where the children, and his clothes, were. 

The cool breeze stirred up by his movement brushed against his bare skin, making him shiver slightly. He guessed that it was early spring here on this world, judging by the growth of the vegetation and the chilly temperature of the air. As used to extreme climates as he was, he would still be glad to get some clothes on. _If only there were something besides that tie-dyed shirt!_

Laughter from around the corner reached his sensitive ears, informing him that the boys were in the den and apparently enjoying the thrill of examining their new clothing. With his lips tugging into a faint smile, he rounded the corner and took in the scene before him. Trunks was currently wearing a miniature version of Radditz's BURN BABY shirt and some black jeans, Goku standing next to him, giggling at the purple haired boy's outfit. The seven year old was only wearing a pair of tan shorts and was holding an equally bright yellow and green diamond print shirt in one hand. Bardock's eyes shifted to Goten and he did a double take. 

There was Goten, turning his head so that he could get a good look at himself, wearing only the rainbow tie-dyed shirt that Bardock had been dreading so much. The shirt was way too large for him, but he didn't seem to care, looking as pleased as if he had discovered a truckload of burgers in his back yard. For some reason, the warrior found the sight utterly amusing and began to chuckle to himself, even as he spotted the lone pair of blue jeans in his size draped over the arm of the couch. He walked over and picked them up, preparing to pull them on, when he suddenly noticed Vegeta. 

The boy was standing off to the side, looking at him with eyes that radiated loneliness and betrayal. Almost as if he had been about to decide something, but Bardock's sudden appearance had interrupted him. Even as the older Saiyan took note of this, the young prince's face shifted to a blank, expressionless mask that allowed no trace of emotion to leak through, and, spinning on one heel, he stalked off in the direction of the kitchen. 

_What was that all about?_ Bardock puzzled to himself, scratching the back of his head with his free hand while staring at the boy's retreating form. When Vegeta disappeared from view, Bardock shook his head in defeat and gave up that line of thought. With a shrug of his shoulders, he quickly pulled the pale blue jeans on and turned to face Goten. 

"Grandpa, look at the great night shirt I found!" Goten squealed excitedly, floating up to eye level with Bardock so that the older man could get a good look at the rainbow colored shirt. "It has all of my favorite colors, and they're so bright!" The little boy's eyes danced with glee as he waited to hear his grandfather's opinion on the new shirt. 

Raising a hand to cover an amused smile, Bardock tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to look serious as he appraised his grandson's new clothing. "It's very... colorful," he said truthfully, thinking that it was probably one of the biggest understatements of the century. _Ah, well, it looks like Goten likes that shirt. I didn't really want to wear it anyway, and I guess I can just go shirtless until Bulma and Radditz get back._

"Hee hee, I knew you'd like it! I'm gonna wear it tonight!" The eight year old laughed happily and dropped back to the ground so he could continue his search for clothing. Bardock chuckled again, sitting down on the couch after moving a pile of clothes off one of the seats, and leaned back so he could watch the three boys play. 

_Goku stood in ring, facing a strange old man with a mask on his face and a golden ring floating about his head. The boy was perhaps twelve of thirteen years old and still had his tail. Standing outside the fighting area were Master Roshi, Bulma, Krillen, Yamcha, a floating cat, a small boy that Bardock didn't know, and an old woman sitting on a floating ball._

_As he watched the fight progress, a spark of pride stirred in Bardock's heart. Goku had gotten so much stronger! In fact, he was winning against the old man! The masked fighter was on the ground and his son had a look of triumph on his face. And he had his guard down._

_In a flash, the old man had grabbed onto Goku's tail, rendering the child helpless, and held him upside down, saying something that Bardock couldn't hear. The others were speaking as well, their words also unheard due to the peculiar properties of the vision. Bardock gnawed his lip with worry as he watched his son dangle helplessly by his tail, knowing that it had to hurt terribly to be pulled like that._

_His worst fears came true when, all of a sudden, Goku's tail came off at the base and the little boy dropped to the ground. He danced around in pain for several moments, his face the picture of agony, until he managed to gain control of himself. Then a look of anger crossed his features, a look that Bardock could well understand. Hell, he'd be angry, too, if someone had just pulled off _his_ tail! As it was, he was pretty angry himself at whoever dared to pull of his son's tail!_

_The old man dropped out of his fighting stance and said something that brought a startled expression of shock to the young Saiyan's face, who pointed at the man and gave an exclamation of surprise. Then the man pulled off his mask, revealing a kindly, gray mustached face that smiled gently._

_Goku's eyes widened in stunned shock and recognition, his mouth forming a single word, and then a look of purest joy lit up his face and he dashed forward into the man's arms, shouting the word at what Bardock guessed was the top of his lungs, though it was hard to tell since he couldn't hear anything. Tears formed in the child's eyes as he latched onto the man's face and hugged him fiercely._

_A faint smile crossed his own face as he watched the reunion of his son and someone who must have meant a great deal to the boy, though he couldn't even guess who the old man might be. His son was happy, and that was all that mattered._

"Daddy?" 

The vision faded away to nothing, and Bardock suddenly became aware of the concerned face of his son hovering in front of him. Goku was practically nose to nose with him, staring intently into his eyes in hopes of seeing them return to normal. When they finally did, the boy smiled with relief. "Daddy, your eyes are back to normal! They went white, and you were shivering, though you might have been cold, but your eyes were _white_! How'd you do that?" Seeing that his father was fine, relief and curiosity fairly bubbled over inside the seven year old Saiyan. 

Bardock blinked in surprise at his son's enthusiastic greeting, and a little bit of confusion. He'd never had anyone describe what he looked like when he was having one of his visions. White eyes? Shrugging to himself, he lifted Goku up and away from his face a little. "It's nothing to worry about," he said casually. "I sometimes have visions of the future, and when I do, I'm no longer aware of what's going on around me." He was feeling pretty good, actually, since the vision hadn't been one prophesying death and destruction, instead allowing him to see a happy moment in his son's life. Again, he hadn't been there, but he supposed there was a good explanation for it. 

"Could you tell us what you saw this time, grandpa?" Goten piped up. He and Trunks had been sitting on the couch to either side of Bardock, both a little worried despite the fact that they knew what was going on with Bardock. But since the vision was over, they figured it was now fair game to question the man about it. 

A thoughtful look crossed Bardock's face as he thought back on what he'd seen. "Well, I'm not really sure what was going on, but I saw Goku fighting an old man, and winning. The old man seemed to be someone you knew, though I've never seen him before," he added, speaking to his son. "You looked happy to see him." 

His eyes widening in awe, Goku could only stare at his father in amazement. "You can see the future?! And you saw _me_?! COOL!!" Happily settling into Bardock's lap, he looked up with admiration at his father's face. "Did you see anything else? This is sooo neat! My daddy can see the future!" 

Amusement danced in the warrior's eyes and he ruffled Goku's hair affectionately. "Yeah, I've seen other stuff. I saw you when you were pinned under that tree, which is how I found you." The amusement faded into a somber tone. "I thought you were dead. You see, the visions haven't ever been wrong before, except once, when Goten traveled through time and rearranged the way things were supposed to happen. Fortunately for both of us, I was only misinterpreting that vision. You hadn't died, yet, even if you looked like it." On impulse, Bardock pulled Goku into a tight embrace, which Goku contentedly returned by wrapping his arms around his father's neck. "I'm so glad I was wrong," Bardock whispered. 

The couch on Bardock's left shifted as Goten, feeling in need of a hug as well as wanting to comfort his grandpa, crawled closer to the older Saiyan and tried to his hug waist. Bardock smiled and shifted his arm to include Goten in the hug, then squeezed both boys to his chest, a feeling of peace and contentment washing over his mind and heart. 

"We're home!!" Bulma's voice called out from the doorway, ending the moment shared by Bardock and his family. Bardock reluctantly let go of the two boys, waiting for them to crawl off his lap before standing up and turning to face the blue haired girl and his fifteen year old son as they walked into the room. The sight of his son still wearing that BURN BABY shirt and blue jeans, accompanied by bits of mayonnaise and relish in his hair, nearly sent Bardock off into peals of laughter. 

Giving his father a scowl, Radditz grumbled and popped the button on a capsule of clothing, tossing it to the ground to let another humongous pile of clothing appear on the floor, not caring that the room was already cluttered with children's clothes. Grabbing a plain blue T-shirt from the pile, he stalked off, not bothering to say anything to Bardock. He was still upset with him for leaving him with Bulma for half the day, and all he wanted now was to get a decent shower - _not_ the kind you get by being dunked in a public fountain - and change out of these ridiculous clothes. 

"Yay! More clothes!" Goten cheered as he threw himself at the pile of clothing that Radditz had left behind, not caring that none of it was in his size. Seizing a shirt with swirls of aquamarine and golden yellow dancing all over it, he held it out to Goku. "Goku, you can have a night shirt, too!" 

For some reason that Goku couldn't explain, the aquamarine and golden colors appealed to him, and he gleefully pulled off the yellow and green diamond shirt in favor of his new night shirt. "I love it, Goten! Thank you!" he said, looking down at the oversized shirt, then gave his future son a hug before darting back into the heap of clothes to see if there were anymore treasures to be found within it. Trunks, who had been sitting quietly on the couch for the past few minutes, grinned broadly and joined his two friends in the renewed fun. 

"So, did you and Radditz enjoy yourselves?" Bardock casually asked Bulma as he spotted one of the sea green shirts he'd bought at the martial arts store lying half hidden beneath a pair of boots. He walked over and picked it up, slipping it on over his head before turning around to face the girl again. That spark of fatherly mischief had come back, and he was eager to hear all about the torture he'd put his son through by leaving him in the hands of the little human female. 

"Oh, well, after you left, I took Radditz to a store that custom makes formal clothing and had the tailor make a tuxedo for him," Bulma replied, her eyes dancing with delight as she recalled the incident. "Radditz looked so handsome in that tux! Now I'll have to think of an excuse to get him to wear it again!" 

"A... 'tuxedo'?" Bardock asked, the strange word rolling off his tongue oddly. 

"It's a... oh, here, I'll just show you. Much easier than trying to describe it." The girl pulled out the capsule that held Radditz's tuxedo and popped out the black and white clothing, holding them up for Bardock to examine. "It's formal clothing, for important parties and balls and things like that." 

"It looks uncomfortable and restricting," the warrior said critically, eyeing the clothing with a hint of distaste. Still, the thought of his son having to wear it was amusing enough that he could forgive its other faults. 

"Well, it's not as uncomfortable as it looks, or so I'm told, but the point of wearing one of these isn't to be able to fight, but to dance, and it's made just right for that." 

"I see." Shrugging the matter off, he returned his attention to Bulma's face and continued his questioning. "What happened after that?" 

With a rueful smile on her face, Bulma went into detail about the biker shop incident, then told him about how Radditz had practically emptied the food court of everything edible before they finally headed back. "It's a pity, though. I never even got to take him to a hair salon! I bet he would look really cute with a crew cut, or maybe a bowl cut... No! A buzz! Yes, a buzz would _definitely_ look good on Radditz!" 

Bardock didn't know whether to be mortified on behalf of his son at the thought of having his hair cut in any of those crazy Earth styles, or to laugh his head off at the mental pictures his imagination provided. Oh, poor Radditz! Maybe he shouldn't ever abandon Radditz like that again. It would be so humiliating for both of them to see him with a buzz. 

Before either of them could say anything else, though, Bardock's stomach pointedly reminded him that he hadn't had any food since breakfast that morning, and it was now getting very close to dinner time. "Er... I don't know about you, but I'm starving!" Bardock said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck in a very Son-ish manner. 

"Me too!" Goten chirped, popping out of the pile of clothing like a rabbit at the mention of food. "I haven't eaten since me and Trunks ate with my chibi mommy!" 

That caught Bardock off guard. "What? Your mom? When did you and Trunks eat with your mom?" A sudden suspicion flickered inside Bardock's mind and he gave the two demi-Saiyans a stern look. "And where did you get those senzu beans, anyway? Did you two go off somewhere while we were gone, after I asked you to help watch over Goku?" 

Goten and Trunks looked guiltily at their feet, looking for all the world like two children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Hai, grandpa," Goten admitted reluctantly. "We thought Goku was gonna die!" Looking back up at his grandfather, his eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "I didn't want him to die, grandpa!" 

"And we got a dragonball on the way, too!" Trunks added enthusiastically. "We brought a radar with us and there was a dragonball really close by, so we decided to get it on the way. It's the one-star ball." 

"Uh huh! My mommy had it, so we got to meet her and my grandpa Ox King and eat lunch with her too! My mom is the _best_ cook, ever!" Thinking back on what had happened, he turned to Goku and said, "And she told me to remind you that you promised to get married with her." 

"Huh?" Goku blinked owlishly, scratching the back of his head in confusion. 

"Wait a second!" Bulma yelped, eyes widening in surprise. "Your grandpa is the Ox King?! That would make Chi-Chi your mother! GOKU and CHI-CHI get MARRIED?!" 

"Oh, I remember now!" Goku crowed in triumph. "Chi-Chi told me about that! It's a kind of food, right? I promised Chi-Chi I get some 'married' with her the next time I saw her." A huge grin plastered itself across his face, and his stomach rumbled at the thought of food. 

Both Bulma and Bardock gaped in dumbfoundment at the naive little seven year old. "You don't know what marriage is?" Bulma asked faintly. 

"No. Does it taste good?" Goku asked innocently. 

"No, you baka!" Bulma rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Marriage is where you spend the rest of your life with someone and have kids together. It is _not_ a kind of food!" 

Blinking curiously for a moment as he absorbed this information, Goku tilted his head to one side. "Oooh..." he said, a look of dawning comprehension on his face. "But I promised Chi-Chi I'd get married with her. And a promise is a promise. So, um... when am I supposed to start living with her?" Scratching the back of his head, he was startled to notice that both his father and Bulma had suddenly blanched. 

"Goku," Bardock said at last, fighting with laughter at his son's naiveté and failing to keep a straight face. "Marriage isn't something you're supposed to do until you're grown up. Okay?" 

"Okay, 'tousan!" the boy happily agreed, the matter already all but forgotten. "Can we go eat now?" 

Bardock couldn't help it. His son's innocence and cluelessness, combined with the oh-so-Saiyan-like question, were just too much for him to handle. He threw his head back and laughed, an action that startled Bulma. After all, she'd never seen him completely give in to any light hearted emotions in front of her like this. Grinning broadly, the older Saiyan swept his son off the ground and settled him onto his shoulders. "Yes, let's go eat," he agreed, taking Goten's hand and setting off towards the kitchen, followed by Trunks and Bulma. 

~*~ 

I'm feeling rebellious and don't want to have any author notes, so I'm just going to say two things. 

First: Me and a few other people have requested that ff.net add a Bardock option in the character search. If you write stories with Bardock in them, or if you just plain want to have this search added, please e-mail the ff.net staff (go look in the little drop-down menu under "Help") and ask them for a Bardock category. 

Second: Yup, you guessed it! I'm asking for reviews! Again! *grins* *gets bombarded by tomatoes and old boots* Awww... all right, fine! I won't ask for reviews! *goes off to pout in a corner* 

**_Story Advertising_**

"The Official Fanfiction University Of DragonBall Z" by BananaGirl, story id 760833, is a funny fic about typical DBZ authors being forced to enroll in the OFUD if they ever want to write DBZ fan fiction again. What happens when Goku teaches them the art of ignorance, Vegeta and Goku lovers war amongst themselves over who the better Saiyan is, and various other DBZ characters serve as the staff for a university full of crazed DBZ fanatics? Only one way to find out! Go read! ^_^ 


	51. Shadows in the Night

Time to pull out my Magic Bag O' Rewards (TM) once again! *pulls out the Bag and reaches in* *fishes around for a prize* And for reviewer 1200, Tenshi of Light, I haaaave.... a cute little toy squirrel holding a sign that says "Bardock is soooo cool!" The squirrel even has a name. ^_^ It's Tamlin! And if anyone can tell me who Tamlin is (beyond the fact that he's now a stuffed squirrel toy holding a Bardock sign, and beyond the fact that Tamlin is half of my AIM sign name) I'll give them a cookie. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: Repeat after me: Brenda doesn't own DBZ. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Shadows in the Night) 

Vegeta lay in bed, staring moodily up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head as he replayed the events of the day in his mind. Two scenes seemed to stand out in his memory, switching from one to the other without any direction from his conscious thoughts. One was the image of an injured Kakarot sleeping on bloodstained sheets, unclothed and uncovered. Why had he pulled those blankets back up over him? What did he care if the brat was cold or not? It's not like it even mattered to him whether Kakarot lived or not... right? 

The other scene was of the incident later that afternoon. Trunks, Goten, and Kakarot had been having so much fun trying on those ridiculous clothes, completely at ease with each other, and Vegeta couldn't help but wonder what it was like to be so carefree. He had wanted so much to join them in their play, to participate in their pointless conversations, hell, even try on one or two of those shirts. It didn't matter. He just.. he had just wanted to be with others like him. 

A lump of emotion formed in the young prince's throat, which he quickly swallowed, rolling onto his side to stare out the window and up at the twinkling stars in the night sky. Clutching a fistful of the blankets to his chest, he curled up into a little ball and exhaled softly. And then Bardock had come, ruining the moment right as he had been about to make his decision. He wanted to hate Bardock for that, but for some reason, he couldn't. It hadn't really been the older Saiyan's fault that Vegeta was so weak. No, the blame for that rested squarely on Vegeta's shoulders. 

The only problem was, the ten year old boy couldn't figure out what it was that made him weak. Was it weak to want to play with other children, to associate with members of a lower class? Or had he been weak in allowing Bardock's presence to stop him from following through on his desires? It was one or the other, but Vegeta didn't know which it was. All he knew was that he had been unforgivably weak, and the Saiya-jin no Ouji must _never_ be weak! 

"But which action was the sin?" he whispered to himself, doubt gnawing on the edges of his soul. He needed to know. Needed to know what he had done that had made him into such a weakling, or else he could never rectify the situation. He needed someone he could talk to, someone who was familiar with the burdens and responsibilities of being a Prince of a warrior race, who would know what things made you weak, and what things made you strong. 

He needed his dad. 

"But father is dead." A sharp stinging in his eyes told him that he was about to commit another crime, and he hastily scrubbed the tears away before they could form. Drawing in a shuddering breath, he crawled out of the bed and opened the window, hoping that perhaps the cool night breeze would help him regain his composure. The air whispered into the room, stirring the oversized white shirt that he wore and brushing against his skin until he wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. Closing his eyes, he faced the wind head on, not caring that his skin was prickling with goose bumps from the cold. The chill air seemed to clear his mind, allowing him to think without distraction, and suddenly he realized something. 

There _was_ someone he could talk to. 

With a newfound resolve, the little Saiyan padded out of the room until he came to the bedroom door of the person who could help him. A wave of uncertainty rippled through him as he lifted his hand to open the door, knowing that once he stepped inside that room, he couldn't turn back. His own pride would force him to follow through with his plan, and he would have to bare his soul to the person on the other side of that door. 

Straightening his back with determination, Vegeta laid his hand on the handle and turned it, quietly pushing the door open and stepping through before allowing it to swing shut behind him. 

~*~ 

"Grandpa!" Goten cried out, shooting upright in bed so suddenly he nearly fell onto the floor. Shivering and crying, he stared around wildly until he finally realized where he was. Tears streamed down the little boy's face which he didn't bother to wipe away and he clambered out of the bed, sobbing. The nightmare had been so vivid, he would have sworn it was real if his eyes weren't telling him otherwise. Thinking about the nightmare, he shuddered and ran over to the door of his room, pulling it open so he could dash down the hall to his grandfather's room. He had to make sure that it was only a dream, and that his grandpa was okay. 

Without even bothering to close the door after him, he darted into the darkened room and crawled into Bardock's bed so he could look at the sleeping warrior's face. His whole body began to shake with relief when he confirmed that the Saiyan was only asleep, and not dead as he had feared. Not caring if he woke his grandfather up, Goten threw himself into the man's arms, sobbing gratefully as he buried his face in the other's neck with tears still sliding down his cheeks. 

At first, Bardock didn't seem to notice and lay unreacting on the bed, then all at once, his eyes flew open and he gasped. Noticing Goten desperately clinging to his neck, he ignored the impulse to sit up, instead lifting a hand to rub his grandson's back. He didn't know why Goten was crying, but he felt he needed to do something to comfort him. 

Not waiting for his grandpa to ask what was wrong, Goten sobbed out, "I had a nightmare, grandpa! And... and I s-saw you die, and Vegeta h-hurt you and... and... Goku and Uncle Radditz were d-dead, too!!" 

"I had the same dream!" Bardock turned his head to look at the doorway and found Goku standing there in his new night shirt looking a little sleepy and upset at the same time. As Goku tottered over to the bed, Bardock sat up, still holding Goten, and patted the spot next to him. Hopping up onto the bed, the seven year old looked up at his father with disturbed eyes. "It was scary," he said softly, leaning into Bardock's embrace. "There was smoke and fire and... and everyone was dead..." The boy sniffled and rubbed his eyes. "Bulma and oniichan and you, tousan, and... and everyone..." he trailed off miserably, not really knowing how to describe what he had seen. 

For several long moments, Bardock said nothing, a troubled look on his face even as he hugged the two children. _They had the same dream as me... only mine wasn't a dream. But how did they see the vision when I'm the one cursed with seeing the future? Have we really grown that close, or was I somehow broadcasting my vision to them? Or... what if the curse can be transferred? After all, that damn alien transferred it to me, didn't he? What if I inadvertently passed it on to Goku and Goten?_ A shudder of dread swept through him at the thought of these two innocent children witnessing the terrible things he'd been seeing and he quickly shoved his concerns to the back of his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on what-ifs. 

"It's all right, it's ok," he murmured to them, stroking their backs simultaneously. He wanted to tell them that it had only been a nightmare, that none of it was true, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to them. Even so, he decided not to tell them that it had been a vision of the future. There was no need to scare them like that, and he still wasn't sure what these dual visions meant, if one set was true and the other false, or if they were both true. Until he could determine why he was seeing visions that seemed to contradict each other, it would be best to keep silent about them. And as for the possibility of accidentally passing on the visions to either of them..._ Well, it might only be a fluke. Best wait and see if they keep having visions, or if this was a one-time thing._

He continued to make comforting sounds, not really saying anything intelligent, just speaking for the sake of letting them hear his voice. Eventually, their distress ebbed away and they snuggled into his arms, their breathing becoming slower, steadier, until they drifted off into more pleasant dreams. Sighing with relief, Bardock leaned back into his pillow and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if he would get anymore sleep this night. He didn't really think so. He had too much on his mind now to possibly have any chance of settling down enough to to be able to fall asleep. Swirling through his head were thoughts of the visions and their possible meanings, and now worries about why the two boys in his arms were getting his visions. With his mind thinking this furiously, it would be impossible to get it to slow down enough to get any decent amount of sleep. 

Oh well. He'd survive. Carefully pulling the blankets back over himself, his son, and his grandson without waking either of them, he prepared for a long night of wakefulness. 

And promptly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

~*~ 

Vegeta hesitantly walked over to the bed where the nine year old boy was sleeping, trying to maintain a steady grip on his resolve as he reached a hand out to rest it on the other boy's shoulder. The lavender haired kid was sprawled out on his bed, the sheets only halfway covering his body, and he was snoring softly through his open mouth. Seeing that his future son wasn't reacting to his light touch, the dark haired prince shook him slightly. "Trunks?" he said softly, almost whispering. 

Grumbling in his sleep, Trunks's eyelids fluttered briefly before he resumed his snoring, one hand unconsciously lifting to scratch an imaginary itch on his neck before flopping back down on the bed. A look of mild annoyance and determination crossed Vegeta's features, and he shook Trunks again, roughly enough that the other boy's head lolled from side to side. At last, the demi-Saiyan's eyes cracked open enough to search for whatever was interrupting his sleep, a flicker of surprise flashing across his face as he realized who had woken him up. 

"Vegeta? What are you doing here?" he mumbled, sitting up in bed and turning to face his chibi father. 

Instead of answering immediately, Vegeta crawled onto Trunks's bed and sat down, hugging his knees to his chest while curling his tail around his ankles. He rested his chin on one knee and stared at the younger child, feeling more vulnerable than he ever had before. "I need to talk to someone," he said at last, locking his gaze onto Trunks's startled blue eyes. He had thought that he could keep the emotion out of his voice, but a note of loneliness still crept in. 

Curious and just a little bit concerned by what he heard in Vegeta's voice, Trunks tucked his legs under him cross-legged and looked attentively at the Saiyan sitting across from him. "What about?" he asked cautiously, searching his chibi father's face for any sign of what he was feeling. 

Taking a deep breath, Vegeta plunged directly into the matter. "I need to know if I'm..." he faltered for a moment, then stoically continued, "if I'm weak." Before Trunks could so much as open his mouth, he hurried to explain, the words tumbling from his mouth as though a floodgate somewhere inside him had been opened. "You see, earlier today, I wanted to... to play with you. And Goten and Kakarot. And before that, I tucked Kakarot in bed and watched over him while everyone was gone. And they're both of third class lineage, even if you're not, and... and... I'm the Saiya-jin no Ouji." He looked down miserably at the rumpled bed sheets. His next words were filled with all the emotional torment and pain that he was feeling, no longer held in check but there for his son to plainly see. "Am I weak, Trunks? To want to play? To play with a third class? To... to care? To care if he's hurt, or cold, or if he dies? And was it weak to run away from playing with you when Bardock came in?" A single tear slid from his left eye, unnoticed as the young prince repeated himself, pleading with the other boy for an answer to his fears. "Am I weak?" 

Trunks was stunned. He could feel his jaw dropping open slightly as he stared at the boy who would one day be his father, amazed at what he was hearing and seeing. Vegeta was asking if he was weak? And... crying? His mind finally caught up with the information he was receiving and he shook his head vehemently. "Vegeta, if you're weak, then so am I! I mean, I'm a Prince of the Saiyans, too, _and_ your son, and I play with Goten and Goku all the time! In fact, Goten's been my best friend my whole life! And it's okay to care what happens to people, no matter what class they supposedly are. After all, you... I mean, my dad... he loves my mom, even though he doesn't say it, but I can tell. And mom's really weak! She's a genius, but she couldn't form a ki blast if her life depended on it. And playing isn't weak. Playing is what kids are _supposed_ to do!" A thoughtful look crossed the boy's face and he added, "I guess you don't know that, though, since you probably had to act strong in front of your dad and Frieza." He was guessing blindly there, since his dad didn't really talk about his childhood much, but it made sense. 

A tiny gleam of hope shone briefly in Vegeta's eyes at Trunks's words, only to be snuffed out like a candle in the wind. "But I ran away," he grated out harshly, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears that threatened to follow the first one. "I was going to play with you and the others when Bardock came in, and I... I _ran away_!" Feelings of self-hate, despair, and loneliness drenched his soul like a cold rain and he couldn't hold the tears back any longer. Burying his face in his knees, he cried helplessly, ashamed of his weakness, and ashamed of his tears. 

"You're wrong," Trunks stated softly, yet firmly, hesitantly reaching a hand out to his young father's shoulder. Vegeta lifted his tear streaked face to stare at Trunks, and the younger boy smiled encouragingly. "You're not weak. You're the strongest person I know. You've just never admitted that you have any feelings, so even though you were willing to open up a little when it was just me and Goten and Goku, it doesn't mean you were ready to show emotions around older people like Bardock. My dad still has problems with that. He wouldn't admit that he cared about anyone until he was about to die, and even then he didn't say or do much beyond hug me and say he was proud of me and to tell mom that he loved her. Emotions aren't bad, Vegeta, unless you let them control your actions to the point where your brain doesn't have any say in the matter." In a sudden, daring move to prove his point, Trunks leaned forward and gave the surprised prince a quick hug, then settled back to see if his words and actions had had any effect on Vegeta. 

Vegeta stared at the other boy's face, searching it for any sign that he might be lying, or just saying things to soothe the prince's pain without really meaning any of it. All he saw was honesty and sincerity and... pride. Trunks's face radiated pride... in Vegeta. Surprised that, even after showing the powerful demi-Saiyan just how weak he was, Trunks could feel proud of him, Vegeta could only nod wordlessly to let the boy from the future know that he had taken the words to heart. 

Having nothing else to say, Vegeta glanced at the door, reluctantly realizing that it was probably time for him to leave. Looking back at the purple haired chibi, though... The ten year old bowed his head, focusing on his fidgeting hands as he worked up the courage to ask Trunks one last question. 

"Can I... stay with you tonight?" he asked hesitantly, lifting his head high enough so he could see how the other boy reacted to his request. "I... I don't want to be alone anymore." 

In response, Trunks grinned and scooted over to make room for Vegeta, wriggling under the covers and laying his head on the pillow, knowing that anything he said would only embarrass the young prince. Relief and gratitude filled Vegeta's heart and he smiled back faintly as he crawled over to the other side of the bed and got under the blankets, glad that Trunks seemed to know him so well. 

Silence reigned for a few minutes, then... 

"Hey, Vegeta?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Do you wanna play tag tomorrow?" 

".................. Okay." 

~*~ 

That chapter was for you Vegeta-lovers. ^_^ Hope you enjoyed it! I'd been planning on having some Veggie cuddles (for lack of a better phrase) for a while. 

Ebo-x - Just because this story is filed under action/adventure does not mean that there will be a lot of action. Sorry! Blame ff.net for listing them together. My fiction is fun adventure, not an action flick. And if you've been paying attention, I have been carefully gathering all the characters back together so I CAN continue the story. I am not going to rush through the story just so I can go find a villain and kill him off. I've said this before, but this story is going to lack in the action department. Very few fights, very few villains, etc. If you want violence, I have a relatively short story in the works that will be extremely violent and NON-fluffy. It's going to be part of the Wish For The Past storyline, but it's separate enough that I needed to split it off into its own fiction. Because of the time frame it happens in, I won't be able to post it until after I finish Wish For The Past, but it's something to look forward to. ^_^ 

Anyway, anyone wanna give me opinions on the stuff I did in this chapter? 


	52. Burnt Fish

Wow. The reviews I got for last chapter... *speechless* You guys are so awesome! I got more reviews for that chapter than ANY other, and some of the things you guys said... I'm touched! *wipes a happy tear from her eye* Thank you all so much for reviewing! 

*passes out cookies to everyone who made a guess about Tamlin* I wasn't really expecting anyone to get it, except for Frozenflower (who kindly refrained from giving the right answer at my request). However, one person DID get it right. Sadistic Shadow correctly guessed that Tamlin (not Tam Lin the minstrel, but that was a good guess, silmir) was once one of the leading characters in my Redwall fan fictions. *gives Sadistic Shadow a chocolate chip cookie* He was also one of my two alter-egos, Brook and Tamlin (thus my sign name Brook Tamlin). 

Sorry this chapter was so late in getting out, but I had another visit from the Grim Reaper of all fan fiction. Writer's block. Fortunately, I kicked him out of my room with directions to go pester my little sister, and he got the hint. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: Noooo!!! You can't make me admit it! I don't want to say it! Nooooooooo!!! *breaks down and cries* I don't WANT to say that I don't own DBZ! Even if it's true! Noooooo!!! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Burnt Fish) 

Awareness slowly dawned on Bardock in the form of a low grumbling in his stomach. Not so loud as to wake the boys, but it was insistent enough to drag the warrior out of the land of dreams and into reality. Blinking his eyes open to greet the darkness that surrounded him, he realized that the sun hadn't risen yet, though judging by the faint light that was coming from the window, it wouldn't be dark for long. Despite his stomach's protests, Bardock didn't really want to get up just yet. The vision from last night was still haunting him, images of his sons' broken bodies flashing through his mind, so he was feeling rather protective of the children in his arms and didn't want to let them go. Even if Goku _was_ drooling on his chest. 

As another picture of Goku's mangled corpse flashed before his mind's eyes, Bardock suddenly realized that it wasn't necessarily his son's body that he was seeing. Goku and Goten looked so much alike that it would be impossible to tell them apart merely by looking, despite the slight age difference, especially considering how badly the boy in the dream had been butchered. Even though the impression he received in the visions was that the dead boy was Goku, it could just as easily be his grandson lying on the rocky ground in a pool of blood. Neither possibility was a pleasant one, and he shivered with apprehension even as he squeezed the two chibis gently, as though he could avert the dark future he'd seen simply by clutching these two a little more tightly. 

Eventually, though, Bardock's stomach began to override his other inclinations, darkly promising that if he did not do something to appease his hunger, it would make enough noise to disturb the sleeping children. Sighing reluctantly, the Saiyan warrior let go of the look-alikes and slipped out of the bed as carefully as possible so as not to wake his son or his grandson. Bardock rubbed one hand over his bare chest where his youngest son had drooled on him, then wiped his hand on one of the sheets before pulling them back up over the blissfully sleeping boys. 

With a stifled yawn, Bardock grabbed a loose fitting pair of black pants, the now-clean weighted black under shirt, a sea green over shirt, and the weighted wrist bands and boots that he had set aside before going to bed, quickly pulling them on before leaving the room. Feeling more awake with each step, he eagerly walked down the hall towards the kitchen, thoughts of food crowding his other concerns to the back of his mind. After all, there wasn't much he could do about them now, and there _was_ something he could do about his hunger! 

As he rummaged through the capsules of food, he picked one that held mostly fish and popped it open. Figuring that he had plenty of time before any of the others woke up, he decided to put his mediocre cooking skills to use in making breakfast. He hadn't actually _made_ a meal since he and Goten had eaten in his apartment a couple weeks ago, so he was a little rusty, but it wasn't anything to be concerned about. After all, he wasn't trying to make anything complex, just a little - well, a lot- - of fried fish. A frown darkened his features a little as he suddenly realized that they really only had various kinds of meat stored in the capsules, no vegetables or fruits. He'd have to speak with the others about that when they came in for breakfast. 

The smells of cooking fish quickly drew the presence of Radditz, who appeared to have already been awake for a while, since he was dressed in a solid maroon gi belted at the waist with a black sash, though he was currently barefoot. Bardock wasn't certain, but he thought he caught a flicker of relief in his son's eyes as the boy unconsciously ran a hand over the comfortable material. _No doubt glad to be back in 'normal' clothing,_ Bardock mused to himself, a faint smile tugging at the corner of one lip. _Can't blame him, though. I'm rather happy to be wearing something besides those blue jeans, myself. Too tight, too restricting, and they chaffed._

"Good morning, Radditz," Bardock commented, curious to see if his son had forgiven him yet for abandoning him with Bulma. He scraped an almost-burnt fish off the frying pan and onto the growing pile of cooked fish and quickly laid another raw fish on the pan before glancing at the teen to see his reaction to the greeting. Apparently, Radditz still wasn't speaking to his father, because he simply sat down at the table and waited silently, though every once in a while casting a furtive look of anticipation at the food his father was preparing. Shaking his head in amusement, Bardock turned back to his cooking. 

A rumbling from the direction of the kitchen table drew the warrior's attention, and, chuckling, he turned to face the younger Saiyan. Smirking broadly, Bardock waved the spatula at fifteen year old. "Well, at least your stomach's still on speaking terms with me," he chortled irreverently, grinning as he saw the faint flush of embarrassment spread across Radditz's cheeks. 

"You're one to talk," Radditz grumbled irritably. "From the way your gut's been talking all morning, you'd think it was trying to set off a small earth quake." Realizing he'd just broken his vow of silence towards his father, he quickly snapped his jaws shut and glared at the older man. 

"True," Bardock laughed cheerfully, inwardly pleased in his victory in tricking the boy into saying something to him. "You know, there's probably enough fish ready to start feeding everyone. Why don't you wake Bulma and the boys up, so we can all eat together?" 

The words were hardly out of Bardock's mouth before Radditz was out of his chair and darting through the kitchen door towards the bedrooms. The moment his son's back disappeared through the door, the cheerful facade fell from the warrior's face and he simply stood there for a moment, staring with somber eyes at the spot where his son had been sitting moments before. His memory called up images of Radditz's body lying alongside his little brother's - if, indeed, the boy _was_ Goku - and he couldn't help but wonder how much time lay between now and that terrible future he kept seeing. 

_Stop that,_ he told himself firmly, turning back to the frying pan before the fish in it could burn too badly. _You don't know if that future will even happen. After all, there _is_ that second set of contradicting visions, the one showing Goku and his friends growing up happily._ Bardock's movements slowed as a thoughtful look crossed his face. Scooping the partially burned fish out of the pan and on top of the other fish, his mind barely paid attention to what he was doing, focusing instead on the idea that had sparked to life. "What if I'm seeing two possible futures?" he murmured to himself, absentmindedly throwing another one of the raw Earth creatures into his sizzling frying pan. "Yes, I know that all my other visions have shown certain futures, but I haven't really had this curse all that long. I don't know if single, unchangeable futures are _all_ that I can see. What if... what if there is a decision or an event coming up that, depending on the outcome, could result in one or the other of these futures? That would mean..." Hope danced inside him and he suddenly had the urge to grin insanely. _That would mean that my sons don't necessarily die! Or me, or any of the other people on this planet!_ He wanted to dance giddily with relief and joy, but a more serious thought wiped that impulse away. 

_But what is the choice, and how will I know which way to decide? Will I even realize when that choice is laid before me, or whoever it is who has to make the decision?_

The smell of burning fish drew his attention back to the pan, and with no small amount of chagrin, he pushed his troubled and hopeful speculations aside so he could concentrate on salvaging what was left of the charred flesh in the pan. "Idiot," he berated himself. "Never think while you're trying to cook. You only get bad cooking, and you have to _eat_ bad cooking!" Uttering a few more choice curses in reference to himself and his intelligence, he chiseled the burnt fish onto a separate plate. His motto had always been 'You burn it, you eat it,' figuring that if he had to deal with the consequences of irresponsibility in regards to food, he might actually learn his lesson and remember _not_ to let it happen again. With a growl of annoyance, he placed another fish in the pan, determined to pay attention this time. 

~*~ 

When Radditz poked his head into his little brother's room, he was mildly surprised to find that the boy was not in there, though the rumpled sheets attested to the fact that Goku must have slept in the room at some point. Not really concerned, Radditz shrugged his shoulders and went on to Goten's room, only to find that his nephew's bed was also empty. Feeling slightly puzzled, the teenager poked his head into the next room - Bardock's room - and walked in when he found both spiky haired boys curled up next to each other and snoring softly. The only way he could tell which was which was the difference in their shirts, both of which had been bought for Bardock by Bulma. A little smile lifted the corners of Radditz's mouth as he watched the two for a moment, thinking about the sparring match he'd had with little Goku not too long ago. Despite how relatively weak the boy was right now, he definitely had potential, and Radditz felt it was his brotherly duty to help him realize that potential. _Maybe I can spar with you again after breakfast, see if nearly dying made you any stronger. I bet I could teach you some neat tricks, too, little brother._ Recalling the look of admiration his Goku's had had in his eyes after being defeated by Radditz, the teenager chuckled and hesitantly ruffled his brother's hair, determining that he _would_ find time today to train the boy. 

Shifting his glance to his brother's look-alike son, Radditz could only shake his head ruefully. Goten looked so much like Goku, and yet their strength was so drastically different that it was hard to believe that he could be Goku's son from the future. Radditz didn't really know how to behave towards the boy. On the one hand, he was family, and younger than the teenager, which would ordinarily entitle Radditz with a higher 'rank' in terms of how he treated Goten. But on the other hand, Goten was so incredibly strong that the older boy found it difficult to imagine even teasing him. So far he'd been avoiding the child as much as possible so he wouldn't have to deal with the dilemma, but he knew he would eventually have to decide how he would interact with his nephew. 

A low growl from his stomach suddenly reminded Radditz of his priorities. Laying a hand on either boy's shoulder, he briskly shook them as he smiled mischievously and yelled, "Wake up, you two! Father's cooking breakfast!" 

Both boys' eyes shot open simultaneously, twin looks of eager anticipation on their faces as they bolted upright. "Breakfast?! Where?!" Goku was already crawling out of bed, looking this way and that for the promised food, while Goten rubbed his eyes and grinned broadly. 

"Yay! Food!" the older chibi cheered, jumping up and down on the bed in his excitement. With a final bounce, he leapt off the bed and landed next to Goku. Both boys looked expectantly at Radditz to see if he had anything else to tell them. 

"Go on, get out of here," the teenager said in a tone of mock-gruffness. "I still have to wake the others up." 

Not needing to be told twice, the look-alikes raced out the door, not bothering to change out of their night shirts in their haste to get to the table before the food had a chance to disappear. _Even if they don't act Saiya-jin most of the time, they still have Saiya-jin appetites, at least!_ Radditz smirked to himself and walked out of his father's bedroom, intending on waking Prince Vegeta up next. 

Upon leaving the bedroom, though, he was blinked in surprise when he found that both Vegeta and Trunks were standing in the hall in the over sized shirts they'd gotten from Bardock's newly acquired clothing, talking quietly to each other until they caught sight of Radditz. At Radditz's appearance, Vegeta looked almost... guilty, and he abruptly turned on heel and retreated towards the kitchen. Trunks cast an annoyed glance in Radditz's direction before following his chibi father, quickening his pace so he could catch up to him before they reached their destination. 

_What was that all about?_ the fifteen year old boy puzzled, staring after the two as they disappeared around a corner. After only a moment of contemplation, he gave that line of thought up as a lost cause and headed for his final destination. The one that he really would rather not go to at all. Bulma's room. Cursing softly to himself at his misfortune, Radditz determinedly walked up to the little onna's door with the look of one facing certain death. 

~*~ 

Quickly catching up to Vegeta, Trunks turned his head to give the older boy a serious look. "Come on, Vegeta, I mean it! You said you didn't want to be alone anymore, right?" 

"I did, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to... to degrade myself like that!" Vegeta bristled, slowing to a halt so they could finish the conversation before reaching the kitchen. Folding his arms across his chest, he scowled at the lavender haired boy and continued his protests. "Besides, I don't see _why_ I'd have to say any such thing!" 

"Because it's kinda your fault Goku got hurt in the first place!" Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Trunks folded his arms in an unconscious mirror of his father. "And it's not like you'd have to say it in front of everyone. Just Goku. And you know Goku, he wouldn't rub it in or anything. Anyway, you can't be friends with someone you've hurt like that and not apologize for what you did." 

"And who says I _want_ to be friends with that third-class?" the black haired boy muttered angrily, glaring at the floor so he wouldn't have to meet Trunks's piercing blue eyes. 

"Vegeta, you don't have much choice if you want to have a friend at all! After Goten and I leave, just how many Saiyan kids are you going to be able to play with? And how many of them would treat you like a playmate, and not the Saiya-jin no Ouji? If you don't apologize to Goku and make friends with him, as soon as Goten and I go home, you're going to be alone again!" 

Unable to refute Trunks's insight about his prospects for friendship, Vegeta silently fumed for a few moments, looking anywhere except at the demi-Saiyan in front of him. "I still don't see why I have to apologize to him," he grumbled at last. 

"That's the way friendship is, Vegeta. You have to make amends for your actions if you ever want to really be friends. If you don't apologize to him, neither of you will be able to put it behind you. And, yes," Trunks added before Vegeta could open his mouth to say something, "even if it _is_ Goku we're talking about, you still need to apologize. Goku might forgive you even if you don't, but he'll still remember that you didn't, and, trust me, that'll hurt him more in the long run than telling him that he killed his grandpa." 

Vegeta appeared to think this over for a few moments before sighing and dropping his arms to his sides. Shrugging uncomfortably, he shook his head. "I'm not promising to do it, but I'll think about it, okay?" Not waiting for Trunks to reply, he started walking again, not wanting to continue the conversation anymore. 

~*~ 

Radditz stared blankly at the red-faced girl in front of him, confusion etched clearly into his own features. He just didn't get the problem - all he'd done was come in to wake her up, so why was she so mad? He would have thought she'd be glad to be informed that it was breakfast time, especially since she had to vie with six Saiya-jin males for food. After all, if he'd let her stay in bed until she came out on her own, there probably wouldn't be any food left at all. 

His train of thought was interrupted by Bulma's enraged screams and a thrown shoe that he narrowly dodged. "I'm naked, you idiot! Don't you have any decency?! You don't just waltz into a girl's room without knocking!!" 

"What?" Radditz asked, even more confused now than before. "But you're not naked," he said, pointing at Bulma's under wear and bra, which made Bulma flush a bright shade of crimson and hastily yank on a pink T-shirt, "and why would it matter if I see you naked, anyway? I mean, you're only a little girl." 

Whatever threats or angry protests Bulma had been prepared to launch died in her open mouth, tears of hurt and betrayal threatening to spill from her eyes. No longer seeming to care about her state of semi-undress, the eleven year old sank to her bed, staring dumbfoundedly at her crush for several long moments as what he had just said sank in. A lone tear trickled from one periwinkle eye, and suddenly her face became furious. 

"GET OUT! GET OUT!! _GET OUT!_" she shrieked, grabbing the other shoe and hurling it with all her might at the teenager's head. "GET OUT OR, DAMN IT TO HELL, I'LL KILL YOU!!!" 

Yelping as the second shoe whizzed, followed closely by a hair brush and bottle of nail polish, Radditz hastily fled the room, still confused by Bulma's reaction, but knowing better than to stick around and ask. He didn't understand what exactly he'd done to deserve any of that, but, he mused, shaking his head in defeat, he figured that he would never really understand that crazy little onna. 

In the mean time, though, there was always breakfast! Realizing that he had accomplished his duty in waking everyone up, the hungry teenage Saiyan hurried back towards the kitchen and the source of the smell of cooked fish. The prospect of food was enough to brighten any situation! 

~*~ 

See? I told you I'd get around to explaining those visions eventually. ^_^ Two or three of you guessed correctly what the visions meant, but I'm not going to mention you by name. That would require me flipping through 3-4 (or more, I don't really know) pages of reviews, searching for each and every one of the guesses, and that takes time and energy that I don't have right now. You know who you are, so kudos for you. ^_^ 

Any ideas on what I should do for the next three, as-yet-unfound dragonballs? They're not ALL going to be easy to find and obtain! That just wouldn't be Dragonball! *grins* In specific, I'm looking for a situation where Bardock could show some of his warrior skills (no, I'm not talking about sudden appearance of previously unknown, big, bad, evil, strong dude who wants to take over the world. Something believable, please.) Other ideas are also welcome. ^_^ 

Pl-mmmph!!! *suddenly finds a sock in her mouth* Mmphffth!! 

Chibi Vegeta: Oh, shut up! No one wants to hear you beg for reviews! 

Brenda: *glowers at Chibi Veggie* 


	53. Breakfast of Champions

*chuckles* The 1300th reviewer.... was Vegeta... *reaches into her Magic Bag O' Rewards and pulls out a stinky, smelly, gym sock and stuffs it in Vegeta's mouth* *evil grin* Sorry, whoever reviewed under the name "Vegeta," but I just _couldn't_ resist! Congrats anyway! 

Disclaimer: It's after 12:30 am as I write this. Go away and leave me alone. *grouchy and tired* If you really need a disclaimer, go read the ones from the fifty some odd chapters before this one! 

A/N: In case you couldn't tell, I'm not a night owl. I like to go to bed fairly early and get up really early, so it doesn't do my temperament much good to be up this late. But I did it all for you, my readers! I stayed up late just so I could finish the chapter! ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Breakfast of Champions) 

Despite the fact that he'd burned a few of the fish and would be faced with having to eat them himself, Bardock was feeling more cheerful than he had in days. Specifically, since the visions come back to haunt him. It was a lot less depressing to think that a dark future might happen if he made a poor decision at some point than to think that the same future would happen no matter what he did. Even with the weight of the responsibility of discovering that choice dampening his mood somewhat, he would at least have a chance to avert the disaster he'd foreseen, and that was definitely cause for celebration in his eyes. 

On top of all that, ever since he'd set aside his concerns, he'd quit burning as many fish. In fact, some of them looked downright appetizing! Scooping another almost perfect fish off of the pan and onto the sixth heaping plate, he glanced over at the table to find that Goku and Goten were just barely sitting down, still dressed in their colorful night shirts, and grinning happily in anticipation of a good breakfast. After tossing another fish into the pan, the older Saiyan picked up two of the heaping plates and set them down in front of each boy. 

"Good morning, Goku, Goten," he greeted them, ruffling the hair on each boy's head affectionately before going back to bring the other plates of fish to the table. It would probably be only a manner of minutes before Trunks, Vegeta, Radditz, and Bulma joined them, so it'd be best to set out all the food now. 

"Ohayoo, grandpa!" Goten chirped, followed closely by Goku's enthusiastic, "Ohayoo, tousan!" before the two began to stuff their faces with fish, their hands a blur of motion as they shoveled food into their mouths as quickly as possible. They either didn't notice or didn't care that some of the fish were a little charred on the edges, wolfing each one down indiscriminately as though it ws the bet thing they'd ever tasted. 

By the time Bardock had brought the last plate out, Trunks and Vegeta had joined the two at the table and were now doing their best to make their own dents in the mountain of fried fish. Bardock was about to turn around and go back to cooking the rest of the fish, but paused and took another look at the two new arrivals. Something was... different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was a subtle shift in the atmosphere that hadn't been there before this morning. Furrowing his brow in puzzlement, the warrior examined first Trunks, then Vegeta, in search of some sign or subtle clue as to what had changed. After a moment of observation, the only thing he could determine was that Vegeta kept casting wary looks at Trunks and... Goku. His whole demeanor was... quieter, moody, contemplative. There was something on his mind, and Bardock would bet his tail that it had something to do with Trunks and Goku. The only question was what it was, and how it would affect Bardock and his family. 

Unable to discover any more about whatever it was that was troubling Vegeta, Bardock shook his head in frustration and turned back to his cooking, noting mournfully that he had nearly burned another fish. With a sigh, he flipped the barely edible thing out of the pan and onto his plate, then turned the stove off, since it looked like he had cooked enough fish to feed everyone. 

"GET OUT! GET OUT!! _GET OUT!_" Bardock's head snapped up as Bulma's piercing, anger filled screams shook the house to its foundations - if capsule houses had foundations - and he turned around to look in the direction of the disturbance. "GET OUT OR, DAMN IT TO HELL, I'LL KILL YOU!!!" A few moments later, Radditz scampered in through the door, looking confused but relatively unconcerned as he sat down at the table and immediately began to chow down. 

"What was that all about?" Bardock asked his son, lifting one eyebrow questioningly, loading his arms with cups before walking over to the table to set them down. 

"I don't really know," the teenager said between mouthfuls. "I walked in to tell her that breakfast was ready, and she just started screaming. Something about being naked, but I don't understand that part. She _wasn't_ naked, she was wearing one of those female bathing suits." Shrugging the matter off, he lifted a large bite of fish to his mouth and went back to eating. 

"You walked in on Bulma when she was changing?!" Trunks exclaimed, pausing in mid-bite to stare incredulously at the older boy. "You're lucky to be alive, Radditz! She practically took my head off the last time I did that to her, and I'm her... uhh..." The boy gulped when he realized just how close he'd come to slipping up and revealing he was Bulma's son... in front of Vegeta! "Her... umm... friend," he finished lamely. 

"Oh," was all Radditz said, not noticing Trunks's verbal stumbling. After a few moments of staring at his fish and trying to puzzle out the information he'd just received... "So humans have a strong taboo against nudity?" he asked, looking to Trunks for an answer. When the lavender haired demi nodded, the teenager frowned. "Humans are strange. They have a taboo against nudity, and yet are perfectly willing to wear clothing in public that shows almost everything," here he was referring to the swimsuit contest, "but if you walk into a human's room while they're wearing the same thing, they'll throw a fit..." 

"Uh... Radditz? Bulma wasn't wearing a bathing suit," Trunks stated, blushing a little. "That was underwear, and humans also have a taboo against being seen in only their underwear. That's why Bulma got mad." 

Radditz stared disbelievingly at the other boy for a few moments. "But what's the difference?!" he asked, exasperation tingeing his voice. "In fact, what that little onna was wearing was more modest than some of the things those other females were wearing at the swimsuit contest!" 

A drop of sweat rolled down the back of Trunks's neck and he shrugged uncomfortably. "I never really understood it myself. That's just the way it is." He picked at his food with his chop sticks, feeling rather odd about talking about his _mother_ in her underwear. 

"Humans are crazy," Radditz stated firmly, then snorted in disgust as he turned back to his food. 

Pursing his lips in thought, Bardock walked back to the kitchen to fill a large pitcher with water. As the thing was filling up, he made a mental note to add beverages to the grocery list he was compiling in his head. Water was all well and good, but it drinking nothing but that would get old quickly. Once the pitcher was full, he picked it up and walked back to the table in time to see Bulma enter the room, her eyes red as though she'd been crying, but her head held high. This behavior instantly raised suspicions in Bardock's mind that Radditz had not told everything that had happened. From what he understood, the boy had only walked in on Bulma in an embarrassing moment, but she was acting as though the teenager had done something to break her heart. 

"Good morning Bardock, Goku, Goten, Trunks. And you too, Vegeta," Bulma greeted them with a cheerfulness that sounded forced. Her failure to mention Radditz was highly conspicuous, and when she deliberately sat as far from the wild maned teen as she could, Bardock knew that something had definitely happened. Bulma was no longer infatuated with his oldest son, and while that didn't really bother the scarred warrior, since he knew that Bulma would eventually - well, hopefully - partner with Vegeta, he still wanted to know why. 

Radditz eyed Bulma warily, thinking that her lack of pestering was almost too good to be true. No puppy love eyes, no offers to be 'helpful' in some way or other, not sitting next to him and trying to attract his attention... It was a breakfast that the Saiyan had only been able to dream about ever since he had first met the strange human girl what seemed like months ago, but was, in reality, about three days. Smiling cheerfully, the teenager poured grabbed the pitcher and poured some water into his glass, downing the cool liquid in a single gulp. He was about to stand up from the table and head outside to warm up in preparation for the spar with Goku he had planned, when his father interrupted him. 

"I was originally thinking that we could get on with the hunt for the other four dragonballs," Bardock began, bringing everyone's attention to his scarred face. "However, this morning I noted that we have very little in the way of food other than meat, and since we're still close to a city, it would be wise to take advantage of it while we can. Bulma," he caught her gaze with his own to make sure she was paying attention, "I know you've already spent quite a lot of money on us, but-" 

"No, you don't even have to ask," Bulma interrupted him, a small smile forming on her previously serious lips. "It'd be my pleasure to pay for the food. After all, Goku _is_ my friend, and you're his family and..." She paused, glancing at Trunks and Vegeta. "And his friends." 

With a grateful smile on his face, Bardock nodded and said, "Thank you, Bulma. Would you like someone to go with you, to help you determine the quantities you need to buy things in? After all, Saiya-jin eat a lot more than humans." 

"I was planning on training with Goku," Radditz hastily interjected, anxious to excuse himself from the possibility of being picked to accompany the blue haired terror on yet another shopping trip. He was even prepared to grab his little brother and shamelessly flee in order to avoid that prospect. 

"I wasn't planning on asking you," Bulma retorted coldly before turning to Trunks and Goten. "Would you two like to come with me?" 

"Yeah!!" Goten cheered excitedly, a huge grin plastered onto his face. "Can I help pick out the food? Pleeease? I'll be good, honest!" 

A mischievous glint sparkled in Trunks's cerulean eyes as he thought of all the possibilities for pranks and jokes that going shopping with his young mother provided. If nothing else, he might be able to get her to buy some supplies necessary for good jokes to play. "Yes, we'd love to go with you, Bulma!" 

"And we can get ice cream, right? Huh? Pretty please? Oooh! And rice balls and watermelon and cookies and hot dogs and hamburgers and corn on the cob..." The black haired chibi trailed off, his eyes glazing over and drool dangling from the corner of his mouth at the thought of all that delicious food. Snapping out of his day dream, he turned his best Son Puppy Eyes (TM) on the older girl. "Pleeeease can we go with you?" 

Grinning at her two volunteers, having no idea what she was getting herself into, Bulma nodded decisively. "All right, you two can be my little helpers," she said self-importantly, the heartbreak from earlier that morning already fading a bit. "If you two are done eating, go get dressed so we can get going as soon as I have a chance to eat, too." 

Goten and Trunks grinned at each other, the first with innocent delight and the second with mischievous glee, and darted off to their respective rooms, whooping and hollering with excitement. Watching his two friends run off to prepare to go shopping with Bulma, Goku fidgeted enviously in his seat, sipping water from cup to wash down the last mouthful of fish. It sounded like they were going to have lots of fun, and he sort of wished that he could go, too. Then what Radditz had said only a few moments ago sank in, and he looked hopefully up at his older brother. "Oniichan?" Once he had Radditz's attention, Goku set down his cup of water. "Do I get to train with you?" Yes, his brother _had_ said he'd train with him, but Goku wanted to be sure. 

Still feeling immensely relieved that Bulma had decided not to try to include him in her shopping trip, Radditz grinned at his little brother and reached a hand out to tug the boy's rainbow colored night shirt. "Sure, but only if you change into a training gi. I won't spar with anyone who's wearing a night shirt." He would have added something about how it looked like someone had spilled multiple cans of paint on it to create that particular pattern, but he could tell Goku loved the shirt, so he kept his opinion to himself. 

"Hurray!" Goku cheered, leaping into his surprised brother's arms to give him a quick hug before jumping down to the ground. "Tousan, did you hear that?" The seven year old hopped enthusiastically from one foot to the other as he looked up at his father joyfully. "Niichan said he's going to train me! I'm gonna go put on my clothes now, so I can get started right away!" With another loud yell of delight, the chibi Saiyan zipped out of the room under the amused gazes of his father and brother. 

"Since when did you decide to train your little brother, Radditz?" Bardock asked curiously as he sat down with his plate of charred fish. Grimacing with distaste, he stuffed a mouthful between his teeth and quickly chewed and swallowed. _I am _definitely_ never going to allow myself to think while cooking again!_ Shuddering, he took a swallow of water and forced himself to continue eating the burnt food. 

An embarrassed flush tinged Radditz's cheeks and he stared down at his now-empty plate. "Well, er... it just seemed like a good idea. Goku's so weak, and he hasn't really been trained well... If you wanted to be the one to train him, I really don't mind," he added hastily, glancing up nervously to observe Bardock's reaction. 

Bardock's eyes danced with amusement as he took another swallow of water, then shook his head. "No, no. You're probably the best one to train him right now, since you're closer to him in power than I am." 

Up until this point, Vegeta had maintained an uncomfortable silence. He had vaguely wanted to go with Trunks and Goten, but the idea of shopping indefinitely with the annoying blue haired female made him dismiss that idea swiftly. However, talk of training brought up in his mind another possibility for a way to pass the time until Trunks and Goten got back. "Bardock," he cut in abruptly, his voice blank and emotionless. "I want to spar with you." He managed to keep all trace of his feelings out of his voice, even the regally commanding note that usually accompanied such statements. There was no pleading, no demanding... a simple statement of fact. And it caught Bardock completely by surprise. 

"N-nani?" he gaped. _Surely that wasn't Vegeta speaking... was it? Vegeta-ouji would simply order me to spar with him, since I'm only a third class soldier... and that didn't _sound_ like an order... Does this have anything to do with those odd looks he was giving Goku?_

"I said, I want to spar with you," Vegeta snapped irritably, scowling off to one side instead of meeting Bardock's eyes. "The other two brats are going with the chibi onna, so you're the only one... you're the only one who's..." It was difficult to say, even though he knew that when he got older, it probably wouldn't be true anymore. "Who's stronger than me," he finally forced himself to say, wincing at the sting to his pride that admitting weakness to a third class caused. His tail twitched wildly with suppressed emotion until he managed to regain control of himself. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his head so he could stare defiantly into the other Saiyan's eyes. "I need a worthy sparring partner, and you're all there is," he said loftily, sounding more like his old self than he had earlier, despite the fact that he had just referred to a low-class commoner as a 'worthy sparring partner.' 

Still taken aback by the ten year old's reaction, Bardock nodded wordlessly. Radditz stared with slack-jawed amazement before he caught what he was doing and closed his mouth with an audible click. Bulma, being unfamiliar with Saiya-jin society and mannerisms, didn't understand what was going on, but noticed the fact that the bratty little prince seemed to be behaving... oddly, though she didn't know exactly what it was that told her this. Shrugging it off as a Saiyan thing, she went back to eating her small portion of fish. 

~*~ 

Dressed in his traditional orange gi, although it didn't have the symbols of the Turtle school on it, Goku waved cheerfully as Bulma took off in her capsule car, followed closely by Trunks and Goten, who had wisely opted to fly under their own power. They both knew exactly what kind of driver Bulma was. Driving with the blue haired girl was an experience to give even a Saiyan gray hairs and was something they actively tried to avoid. Once the car and the two demi-Saiyans were out of sight, Goku eagerly turned to his older brother, who was patiently standing beside to him. 

"I'm ready to start training, niichan!" The little Saiyan's tail waved behind him happily as he shifted into the best fighting stance he knew, waiting for his brother to do the same. 

"All right, little brother," Radditz smirked, positioning his feet to indicate he was ready to begin. "Let's see what you've got." 

~*~ 

This chapter seems short because it's fairly uneventful. Yup, it has all the earmarks of a filler chapter. *sighs* But I needed to do a little more character development, and, being the obsessive author that I am, I just _couldn't_ leave them with only FISH to eat for the rest of the story! Well, fish and the various other animals they found and killed. Bleah! And I didn't feel like conveniently finding an apple orchard or something. It's just plain easier to have Bulma go on another shopping trip and get a nice variety of food not available in the wilderness. Besides, it gives me a good excuse to put in some badly needed training time. 

Okay, want your opinion on this. Should I just get that shopping trip over and done with as quickly as possible and get back to the dragonball hunt? Or should I play around a bit and have something come up (e.g. the kids decide to stop a group of terrorists bent on the destruction of the city)? No, there probably won't be a dragonball coincidentally somewhere along the way. It would be just a little _too_ convenient that every time they leave the house, they get a dragonball. 

I'm still looking for ideas on where the last three dragonballs are! 

*pulls the sock out of her mouth and drops it on the floor* Eeeew... stinky sock in my mouth... Pftheew!! Darn that Vegeta! 

Kaio-sama: Hehehehe!!! *snort* *chuckle* Good one! Get it?! Darn? Sock? *rolls on the floor, laughing his head off* Bwahahahaha!!! 

Brenda: *sweatdrops* .... riiight.... *looks back at the readers* Anyway, please review! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Bring Your Father To School Day: Revived!" by Frozenflower, story id 672445, is one of THE BEST Gohan-torture fics out there! It's Bring a Parent to School Day, and Gohan is faced with the dilemma of bringing his father to school and trying to keep a low profile at the same time. Calamity ensues when nearly every noteworthy DBZ character _somehow_ ends up appearing at some point or other to make Gohan's life a living hell. I know I've advertised this story before, but Frozenflower has REVIVED it! Instead of leaving it at its original ending, she is now going on to detail the wake of the aftermath of BYFTSD, and it's no longer _just_ Gohan being tortured. She's even brought BARDOCK in! Absolutely hilarious! 

"Hoshi no Chibi" by MoonShadow, storyid 789387, is also a Gohan-torture fic. ^_^ It's just another day at Gohan's school, but things go haywire when his child from the future and his grandfather from the past (YES! It's BARDOCK!) arrive. She's got some truly original ideas, as well as some that we all know and love, and the whole story is really good and really funny. Go read it! 


	54. Training

Technically, since I posted the last chapter after midnight, and since I posted this one _before_ the next midnight, that means I posted two chapters in one day! ^_^ 

Oh, by the way... I did a color version of the Radditz picture on my art page, and I believe it _definitely_ shows just what Bulma saw in the guy in the first place. ^_^ I'm still touching it up, but you can take a look at the nearly-finished version at http://lonestar.texas.net/~jcapps/radditzclr.jpg 

Disclaimer: Bardock: *nudges Brenda's unconscious body with the toe of his boot* Looks like she's out cold. Guess she stayed up too late last night, after all. *looks around in search of anyone else* Well, looks like I'm in charge of the disclaimer. Brenda doesn't own DBZ. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs their head examined... or a good konk on the head. I'd be perfectly willing to provide the second cure, but for the first, you'll have to find a licensed professional. At least _my_ cure is free, though! *smirks* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Training) 

Knowing better than to hold back, Goku sprinted towards his older brother, fist cocked for the first punch. At the last moment, he pulled up short and swung his knee up towards Radditz's gut, pushing off with his other foot to give the blow a little extra momentum. Radditz smirked and blocked the attack with his own knee, then jabbed a blade-like hand toward the younger boy's head, an attack that Goku narrowly dodged by planting his feet against the teen's chest and launching himself backwards. Flipping gracefully through the air, he landed on his feet with a light _tpp_ about five yards from where his brother had been standing. 

Not allowing the child any chance to recover, Radditz was already zipping through the air at full speed, his elbow leading the attack. Goku's eyes widened at the speed the older Saiyan was approaching at, and he quickly scampered out of the way before Radditz's elbow could bury itself in his stomach. Unfortunately for him, that was exactly what the wild maned teenager was expecting him to do. With a wordless cry of triumph, the fifteen year old whipped his leg around directly into Goku's path, catching the boy across the chest with his shin. His body doubling over Radditz's leg from sheer momentum, the seven year old gasped for breath and stumbled backwards, nearly falling down before he managed to regain his balance. 

Even though he was still a little dazed, Goku used his close proximity with his opponent to his advantage, thrusting a small fist into the older boy's gut with as much power as he could muster, quickly following it up with an uppercut to the jaw. Radditz inhaled sharply, more with surprise than pain, as Goku's fist knocked the air from his lungs, hastily jerking his head back to lessen the damage that the second fist caused as it connected with his chin. Bringing a hand up to bat Goku's arm back down, the older Saiyan whipped his tail from around his waist. Like a flash of brown lightning, the furry tail lashed through the air and curled around his little brother, pinning the boy's arms to his side and holding him helplessly in the air in front of Radditz. Try as he might, Goku couldn't break free of the iron-like grip of his brother's tail, unable even to kick at it because it was out of the reach of his short legs. 

Trapped in the coils of his brother's tail, Goku continued to desperately strain to free himself, coming slowly to the sinking realization that he just couldn't win this fight. A part of him buried deep within told him to stop fighting and surrender, but... it just wasn't in his nature to give up without giving it everything he had. On the other hand, he _really_ wanted to learn what his brother had to teach him, and Radditz wouldn't do that until the spar was over. After another moment of consideration, he sighed and went limp. He was no match, and he knew it, but even in such an uneven training spar, it was no easy thing to give up the fight. 

Calmly waiting until his brother stopped thrashing, Radditz ruffled the chibi's hair and smiled proudly. "You've gotten stronger, Goku! I still won, but that doesn't change the fact that you did well. Especially with that last attack. You were able to think fast and use your size and proximity to me to your advantage, and those blows carried quite a bit of power." Goku's face took on a glow of pride at the praise he was receiving, which elicited a chuckle from the older of the two. "However, you forgot about my tail and my arms. If I'd wanted to, I could have pinned you in a bear hug instead of using my tail, but I wanted to make a point. You have to keep your eyes on _all_ of your enemy, not just the parts of him you're expecting an attack from. And speaking of tails..." Setting his little brother on the ground, Radditz curled his tail around his waist as he reached out and gently took hold of the younger Saiyan's tail, manually wrapping it around the boy's waist. "You leave your tail open to attack by letting it wave around freely like that. Keeping it in this position will help guard it against being grabbed or otherwise injured." 

Goku eyed his tail in its new position for a moment, then took a few uncertain steps around the clearing they'd been sparring in, wobbling from the unfamiliar change in balance that this created. "I don't like it," he complained, looking back at Radditz. "It feels funny, like I'm about to fall down, and my tail doesn't want to stay there." 

"You'll get used to it," Radditz chuckled. "It'll take a few days of practice, maybe a week or two, before your tail will stay there on its own, but it'll eventually become second nature. Now, I want you to walk around in a circle until you can keep your balance." 

"Do I have to wear it wrapped all the time?" Goku asked, sounding unenthusiastic at the prospect, lurching and stumbling as he attempted to get used to his tail's 'guarded' position around his waist. At one point, he stepped on a loose rock and, arms flailing, fell to the ground with an _oomph!_ as his face buried itself into a pile of decaying leaves. Undaunted, he picked himself back up and began his circular journey again. 

"It'd be a good idea, at least until you're used to curling it in battle, but I won't make you. Most Saiyan children prefer to leave their tails loose when they aren't sparring or fighting. It isn't until they get older and are more prone to be attacked by surprise that they start wearing their tails wrapped around their waists most of the time." It was a simple precaution that most Saiyans took due to the fact that life on Vegeta-sei was a lot more dangerous and unpredictable. One never knew when an enemy was preparing to attack from behind, to grab your tail and render you helpless, so as the children got older and healthy paranoia set in, it was only natural for them to guard their tails no matter where they were. Chikyuu-sei, however... If Goku remained on this soft, peaceful world, Radditz could easily envision his little brother allowing his tail to hang free clear into adulthood and beyond. Until he had children, that is. Radditz smirked. Babies had a tendency to grab at anything and everything, especially if it moved, and parents quickly learned to guard their tails very closely when small children were about. 

"All right, little brother, you can stop practicing for now," he called out after several minutes of watching Goku totter around the clearing. "Come here, and I'll teach you some basic ki attacks." 

"Hai, oniichan!!" Goku's face lit up at the prospect and he unwrapped his tail so he could race over to Radditz's side without falling flat on his face. Sitting cross legged in front of his older brother with his tail flicking happily from side to side, he watched and listened eagerly as the teenager began to describe and demonstrate various energy based techniques. It wasn't long before he was trying to copy the things his brother was showing him, though as often as not this ended up accidentally singeing either him, the grass around him, or Radditz. 

Meanwhile, in a clearing not too far from the one where Goku and Radditz were sitting, Bardock and Vegeta faced off against each other, warily eyeing the other's defenses in search of some hole or weakness that would allow them to gain the upper hand. Both Saiyans were breathing heavily and appeared rather bruised and battered, since they had been sparring intensely the entire time that Goku and Radditz had been training. 

"You're pretty good," Vegeta admitted grudgingly, wiping the sweat out of his eyes, then smirked and added, "for a third class weakling." 

Bardock smirked back, refusing to allow the barb to get under his skin. He knew that the young prince was only trying to get him to let his guard down. "So are you," he shot back flippantly. "For a chibi!" His smile broadened as he observed the reaction this taunt elicited, the scowl deepening on the ten year old's face and his lips peeling back from his teeth a fraction of an inch. 

"I'll show you chibi!" Holding out one hand, palm flat and facing his opponent, Vegeta began to concentrate his ki in the center of his hand. "GALLIC GUN!!!" The world around him turned a bright white, disabling his vision temporarily, as the deadly ki blasted across the space that lay between the two. From the startled yelp and muttered curses, Vegeta knew that his attack had hit home, and he smirked triumphantly. "What's wrong? Too hot for you?" Kami, it felt good to be able to take out his pent up frustrations on someone else, to be able to _fight_ and go all out. For the first time in weeks, maybe even months, he was truly testing his limits and finding them... inadequate. It didn't even matter to him that his opponent was a third class commoner, only that the man was providing a good challenge, a way to stretch his limits and become stronger. When he was fighting was the only time he truly felt at peace with himself and everything around him. In a fight such as this, everyone became equal as rank was tossed lazily out an open window. Everything was so simple, just you and your enemy and the thrill of the challenge that lay in finding a way to defeat him. With an unmatched glee glistening in his eyes, the young prince launched himself at the older Saiyan and began exchanging a flurry of blows too fast for most people to see. 

"Of course not!" Bardock laughed irreverently as he blocked an elbow aimed at his ribs. "I'm just getting warmed up!" Tossing a few balls of energy at Vegeta, the scarred warrior phased out of sight only to reappear behind the young prince, slamming his doubled up fists into the small of the boy's back. Vegeta plummeted like a rock for a moment before he regained his senses and halted his downward movement. Even as the ten year old looked up in search of his foe, Bardock was already in his prince's face and ramming a fist into the child's stomach. Eyes widening in pain, Vegeta coughed up a few speckles of blood, unable to avoid the elbow that the older warrior slammed between his shoulder blades. The force behind the blow was enough to send the young prince speeding towards the ground, making an impact crater the size of the capsule house where he landed. 

Groaning in agony, the battered child forced himself to his hands and knees, only to collapse again as a wave of dizziness rippled through his body. The faint sounds of someone landing at the edge of the crater told him where Bardock was, but even with this revelation he could only barely muster the energy to lift his head enough to watch the warrior approach. He half expected the older Saiyan to gloat over his victory over the Saiya-jin no Ouji, to ridicule him for being so weak. In truth, Vegeta wouldn't have blamed him for it, since that was exactly what he was thinking about himself. Even so, he was determined not to let his humiliation show, clenching his teeth while staring up at Bardock defiantly, chest heaving as he gasped for breath, but remained otherwise silent. 

"Enough," Bardock stated simply once he reached the boy's side. His voice held no malice, no smugness over his victory, no taunting overtones. It was simply... enough. Vegeta blinked up at the older man and was surprised to find that Bardock was extending a hand to the fallen prince. The boy didn't know what to do! For several long moments, he stared blankly at the offered hand, then shifted his gaze to examine the warrior's face, searching for some trace of intent in the other's expressionless black eyes. If he had detected even the slightest hint of mockery, or pity, or even sympathy, he probably would have ki blasted the other Saiyan with every last ounce of energy he had. As it was, he could find... nothing... Bardock was simply offering a helping hand if Vegeta chose to take it, no strings attached. 

After another few moments of scrutiny, Vegeta uncertainly placed his small hand in Bardock's calloused one, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. 

~*~ 

After about five minutes in the grocery store, Bulma stalked back out, dragging the two little demi-Saiyans by their ears, looking about as ticked off as they come and ready to blow up any second. Popping open the capsule car, she picked up first Goten, then Trunks, and set them in the back seat of the car. 

"Now _stay here_! And don't you _dare_ fly off anywhere, with _or_ without the car! Honestly! I should have brought Bardock with me! At least _he_ has enough sense not to grab the can from the bottom of the display, or grab twenty of anything that catches his eye, or accidentally knock over the fruit stands, or..." Bulma continued her rant for another five minutes before she finally cooled off and scowled down at the teary eyed chibis before her. 

"We're sorry, Bulma," Goten sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes. "We didn't mean to!" 

"We just wanted to help," Trunks added glumly, staring down at his feet. 

Bulma's anger melted away like ice in the sun and she smiled faintly. She just couldn't stay mad at those two for some reason. "Yeah, I understand, I guess. But... I think it would probably help me more if you two would just stay put in the car while I get the shopping done. I've seen you guys eat, and I've known Goku for some time now, so I can probably guess how much of everything I need to buy. Here," she said, handing a capsule to Trunks. "This is to make up for having to wait for me. I was going to save it for a treat, but I can always buy more, and you two need something to keep you occupied until I'm done." Giving the two one last, beautiful smile, the eleven year old girl waved to them. "Now, you two be good! I'll be back before you know it!" 

Watching the human girl disappear into the crowd, Trunks sighed and shifted his attention to the capsule in his hand. "What do you think she gave us, Goten?" 

"I dunno, Trunks! Open it up so we can find out!" The eight year old chibi had already forgotten his shame at being the cause of such trouble for Bulma and was now fidgeting with excitement. He was literally itching with curiosity to know what was inside the capsule. 

"Okay, here goes!" Brushing a hand through his lavender hair, Trunks bit his lip and depressed the button on the capsule, then tossed it to the ground. When the smoke cleared, both boys could only gape in astonishment and dawning glee at what lay before them. 

Twenty plastic buckets of ice cream, each a gallon in volume, sat stacked on the side walk, the words "Fudge Ripple" neatly labeled on their sides. All concerns about the earlier mishaps flew out of their minds as they literally attacked the frozen desserts, tearing the lids off and gorging themselves on the icy contents therein. The sugar instantly entered their bloodstream, going straight to their heads, and it wasn't long before both demi-Saiyans were giggling insanely, bouncing up and down as they continued on to the next bucket of ice cream. 

~*~ 

Hehe... oops! Bulma just made a biiig mistake. ^_^ 

This chapter originally had Vegeta using the Big Bang Attack. Yep, I screwed up. It's been months since I saw the Android Saga. Thanks to two reviewers, though, I was informed that I messed up and have now changed it to the Gallic Gun. I did nothing to change the movements that Vegeta uses accompanying this attack (don't remember them well enough to describe them, even though I saw the episode where Vegeta first uses it not that long ago) and it's not that important anyway. 

I'm still looking for good ideas on where the last three dragonballs are! And just so you know, I'm not intending on bringing the Red Ribbon Army or any of the other major DB characters (e.g. Tien, Chaotzu, Yajirobe, Tao Pai Pai, Piccolo Daimao, etc.) into this fic. _Perhaps_ in a sequel, but not _this_ fic. 

If I'm a little late with the next chapter (don't know if I will or won't be late, just suspecting it _might_ happen) it's because I'm adopting someone's fic and am working on transferring the story to my computer, as well as working on the next chapter for that story. 

Anyway, please review! 


	55. Ice Cream Buckets

*limps back onto the stage of ff.net* Ooooow... *whimpers* I went tubing for the first time in my life, and not only have I come away with a sun burn, but I've also discovered the I really DO have muscles... and they hurt! Anyway, sorry the chapter is late. It started off with just setting up Wild Occurrences (a fic I adopted) and having to go to work. I ended up burning out and not being able to write for two or three days (curse the writer's block!). Then when I finally scrounged up enough creative juices to start the chapter, I went tubing and came back exhausted and sunburned. More delay. And on top of all that, this chapter just didn't want to write! I had to beat it out of my brain with a frying pan. 

Anyway, thanks to Vaarj and saiyantamer for telling me about the Big Bang Attack. It's been a long time since I saw the Android Saga, so I didn't realize Vegeta didn't make up that attack until then. I've gone back and changed all references to the Big Bang Attack (yes, there was another one in a previous chapter) to Gallic Gun. I knew about the Gallic Gun already, but I didn't want to use it. Big Bang Attack sounds way cooler. ^_^ Oh well. 

Disclaimer: If I had a dollar for ever time I had to say "I don't own DBZ," I'd have.... *counts chapters* a lot more cash than I have right now. Anyway, I don't own it, so don't sue me. You wouldn't get very much. ^_^ 

I made reference to Frozenflower's "Misunderstandings--Goku and Vegeta--they're NOT!?!" Don't own that, either. 

I also don't own the anime that I *coughs* misquoted in this fic. *evil grin* I have nothing against it (am actually something of a fan of it) but it's just so much fun to spoof it! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Ice Cream Buckets) 

Twenty minutes later, Goten and Trunks sat down on the sidewalk, giggling hysterically as they licked the last traces of ice cream from the last two buckets. It had only taken them so long because ice cream was _cold_, after all, and if eaten too quickly it tended to cause brain freeze. Nonetheless, after twenty minutes of eat ice cream, the result was the same. The sugar in the boys' blood was slowly congealing, their little hearts beating faster and faster each second as sugar-coated energy coursed through their veins. Neither of them noticed the strange looks that passers-by gave them. What did they care what they looked like? So they were two chibis sitting in a mountain of ice cream buckets with the remains of fudge ripple ice cream splattered everywhere. Big deal! 

"Hee hee, Trunks, look at me!" Goten giggled happily as he placed a bucket over his head, then punched two holes in the side so he could see. "I'm the Great Saiyaman!!" He jumped up off the sidewalk and began doing the poses he'd seen his brother do so many times in front of a mirror. 

"Hahaha!! You're right, Goten! You _do_ look like him!" Trunks snickered, then caught sight of a green grocery bag with black letters printed on one side. "Wait! Wait a second, Goten!" he gasped, eyes dancing with sugar-induced mischief. Grabbing the bag, he punched out head and arm holes, then shoved the bag over Goten's bucket-covered head. "Come on, stick your arms out the side. Hehehehehe!! Now you'll really look like Saiyaman!" 

Only too happy to comply, Goten's little arms popped out the sides and he tugged the bag into a more comfortable position before jumping back into his 'super hero' stance. "Ha ha ha! I'm the suspenders of love and justice!" he crowed as he planted his fists on his hips. "Evil bad guys beware! I'll show bright thongs an' trip over evil! An' that means you!" Ending the speech with another hyper-active giggle, he pointed a finger at the pile of ice cream buckets and shot a small ki blast at them, promptly turning them into a puddle of bubbling plastic. Only one bucket had escaped the wrath of 'Saiyaman,' and that was because it was in Trunks's hands. He had spotted a last glob of sticky sugar in the bottom and had rescued it before the bucket could suffer the same fate as its friends. 

After the little light display that the black haired chibi had just given, a small crowd of people was beginning to form around the two demis, many of them pointing at the small lake of plastic or at the cause of self-same lake. Oblivious to the attention they were receiving Goten and Trunks continued to chatter away about everything from Saiyaman to squirrels and lizards to the last prank they'd pulled on Vegeta and Goku. 

"Hee hee! We had to hide for a _month_, Trunks! I don't think I've ever seen your dad so mad!" Recalling the look on the Saiyan Prince's face, Goten collapsed to the sidewalk in helpless laughter, nearly losing his bucket-helmet in the process. Fortunately for his 'secret identity,' the bucket had a handle that tucked neatly under his chin and prevent it from coming off. 

"Well, we _did_ make the Z Senshi think our dads were in love!" The very thought of that actually being the case sent the lilac haired demi into peals of laughter and he, too, was soon rolling on the sidewalk and, coincidentally, in the cooling puddle of plastic. The semi-liquid stuff meshed with his clothes so that when he rolled away from it, it strung along after him, firmly stuck to his purple shirt and blue jeans. 

"Truunks!!! Hahahaha!! You look like you got cotton candy stuck on you!" Goten howled with laughter, kicking his little legs with mirth. Gasping for breath, the eight year old climbed to his feet and straightened his costume, becoming as serious as a sugar-happy demi-Saiyan could be. "Hey, Trunks! I need a cape! Saiyaman has a cape, so I need one too!" 

"So go find one, Goten!" With a small smirk adorning his lips, Trunks grabbed the sole surviving ice cream bucket and pulled in on over his head. "Hey, Goten! I'm gonna be Saiyaman, too!" His voice was muffled and distorted by the bucket as he turned to face what he thought was his best friend. However, he'd forgotten to poke holes in the ice cream bucket before donning it, so what he ended up doing was stumbling into the fire hydrant. Normally, this wouldn't have been cause for concern, but when as super-powerful, sugar-crazed chibi does it, that's another thing entirely. 

"Hey, cool! You made a water fountain, Trunks!" Goten giggled as the hydrant broke away from its position and smashed into the glass window of a nearby toy shop. As the water spewed outwards in all directions, the crowd of citizens that had formed suddenly scattered, anxious not to be doused by the cold water. While Goten was partially protected from the artificial rain because of his plastic bucket and 'tunic,' Trunks had no such luck and was soon thoroughly drenched. In an attempt to escape the miniature geyser, the boy dashed blindly away from the source of the water only to trip over Goten's prone body, who still lay on the ground laughing his head off, and crashed to the sidewalk next to the younger boy. For some reason only comprehensible to drowned worms, peed on squirrels, and drunken gods, he found this immensely hilarious, howling with glee as the sugar in his blood rushed through his brain and altered his perceptions of humor and reality. 

"But Truuuunks!" Goten suddenly whined, tilting his head so he could look at the other boy. Finding that Trunks had no eye holes in his bucket, he reached out and roughly yanked the accessory off. "You can't be Saiyaman! _I'm_ the Great Saiyaman!" 

Taking the opportunity to poke holes in his 'helmet,' the nine year old demi glanced at his fellow crime fighter. "Okay, then, I'll be someone else! Umm... what's a good name for me?" 

"You could be Cotton Candyman!" Goten giggled, pointing at the strings of plastic draped all over Trunks's body. "That's what you look like!" The thought of cotton candy made the sugar-crazed boy drool, though it was impossible to tell because of the water that continued to fall on both boys. 

"Naaah," Trunks shook his head. "That sounds sooo lame! Hey, I could be the Super Saiyan! There aren't any Super Saiyans in this time, so no one would know what it meant!" 

"Except Vegeta an' my grandpa an' Uncle Radditz an' Goku!" Goten quickly corrected, pushing himself up to a sitting position as he continued to ignore the water falling from the sky. "Oh, and Master Roshi an' Bulma and Yamcha and Krillen! They saw you go Super, too!" 

"Darn!" Rising to his feet, the lavender haired chibi hit his palm with an open fist. "It has to be a secret identity! Umm..." Once again, the sugar in his blood took control of the nine year old demi and he grinned as he stuck his chest out proudly. "Super Duper Sugar Boy!" he crowed, mashing the bucket back on his head. Once he had successfully tucked the plastic handle under his chin, he turned to Goten impatiently and waved him towards the sky. "Come on, Goten... I mean, Saiyaman! We're crime fighters, so let's go find some crime to fight!" 

"Hee hee yay!!!" Goten cheered, blasting off in the direction of a cloud that looked coincidentally like Hercule Satan's afroed head. "An' we can help save all the sugar of the world! An' captive toys, too, right Sugar Boy?" 

A demented grin plastered itself on Trunks's face, invisible because of the bucket over his head, and he took to the skies after his friend. "Right! Those crooks better watch out, 'cause here we come!" Chortling as only a sugar-high son of Vegeta can, the lavender haired super hero did a loop-de-loop in the air, then put on a burst of speed to catch up with Goten. 

~*~ 

After their sparring session had ended, Bardock had gone back inside the house to get cleaned up and start lunch. Vegeta had opted to stay out in the forest and meditate, or so he had told the older warrior. Now he sat on a rock, surrounded by trees and silence, staring at his hand with a mixture of feelings. This hand had thrown ki blast after ki blast, killed countless soldiers and innocents, destroyed cities and lives at the same time... with this hand, he had dominated everyone around him. He had also used this hand to push away anyone who had dared to get close to him, had ruthlessly shoved aside any and all help that had ever been offered to him. It had always been beneath his dignity and pride to accept assistance from anyone. And yet... 

Curling his hand into a fist, he watched the muscles underneath the skin move, the graceful dance of light and shadow that played across the valleys and mountains of his fingers, the faint whitening of his knuckles. He thought he should feel betrayed by this hand for what it had done, but, strangely, that emotion wasn't present. He was merely puzzled. Puzzled because he _didn't_ feel angry with himself for accepting Bardock's help. Puzzled because, even though he had taken Bardock's hand, he didn't know _why_ he had done so. 

He opened his hand and experimentally positioned the fingers to where he was holding an imaginary hand, recalling the feeling of Bardock's skin against his, trying to reconstruct in his mind what it felt like to accept help from someone. Suddenly feeling guilty, he dropped the hand to rest on the rock beside him, fixing his attention on the furry brown tail that twitched in his lap. _Father would be ashamed to call me his son,_ Vegeta thought bitterly, bowing his head in shame. All his life he had looked up to his father, had sought to please him, make him proud of the heir he had produced, and Vegeta knew that putting his hand in Bardock's was something that would more than displease his father and king. 

And yet he had _wanted_ to take Bardock's hand, to have his hand accepted by the other Saiyan and be pulled to his feet. Something inside him had tugged at his heart when Bardock had reached out to him, and all the barriers he'd placed between himself and the world and people around him had cracked, allowing him to respond as he had. Even though the scarred warrior was only a third class, Vegeta somehow found himself looking up to the man. Almost like... a mentor. Except Bardock couldn't be a mentor, could he? He wasn't training Vegeta, and he had only sparred with him once, so why did the young prince think of the older warrior as a... teacher? _No, not a teacher... something else..._ There was a word to describe his perspective on Bardock, but it danced tauntingly on the edges of his mind, unwilling to show itself to the confused little boy. 

Sighing in frustration, Vegeta slid off of the rock and began to walk aimlessly through the forest, still lost in thought. Instead of curling around his waist like it normally did, his tail trailed behind him freely as it unconsciously waved through the pattern of his troubled thoughts. _ I don't know what to think anymore,_ he despaired. _Father would hate me for what I've become. Soft, weak, allowing my emotions to influence my actions. I cried in front of Trunks, I wanted to play with him and the others, and now I'm accepting help! But... Trunks doesn't seem to think those are bad things... And neither does Bardock, since he does them, too..._

He blinked in surprise at that last thought. There it was again. _Why do I care what Bardock thinks? I mean, it's one thing to consider Trunks's opinion, since he _is_ my future son. He'd know what future me would do, and what he would like future me to do, but... Bardock? Why-_

"Hey, Vegeta!" Goku's seven year old voice broke into his train of thought, and it was with a start of surprise that the ten year old prince realized that he had unwittingly walked in the direction of the clearing where Goku and his brother had been training. Now Vegeta found himself facing the two Saiyans as they sat in a patch of singed grass, Radditz staring at him curiously and Goku brightening with excitement. "Guess what?! Radditz showed me how to do this neat trick called ranzoken energy dance," Radditz winced as Goku mangled the name, "and he helped me make little ki blasts better and this other really cool thing where you can shoot energy from your _mouth!!_" The little boy scrambled to his feet and grinned proudly, his tail wriggling with glee. "Oniichan said I'm learning really fast! He says I need to work on my mouth blast, though," he confided sheepishly. "It keeps coming out of my nose." 

Radditz smirked at this. "At this rate, Goku's going to have the deadliest sneeze on the planet," he teased, standing up as he spoke. Absentmindedly flicking a few leaves and twigs off his maroon gi, the teenager glanced in the direction of the house. "I'm gonna go check to see how far dad's coming with lunch. Goku, why don't you keep practicing that mouth blast until it's time to eat," he suggested. 

"Okay, niichan!" Goku agreed happily, anxious to please his older brother by mastering that technique. Maybe if he worked hard enough, he could surprise Radditz the next time they sparred. Then maybe he could convince his brother to go back to that rambokill energy den technique! That had looked sooo cool! 

Satisfied with his brother's response, the wild maned teenager blasted into the air until he was above the canopy of trees, then took off in the direction of the house. Teaching Goku hadn't exactly been strenuous, but the little Saiyan had accidentally singed him enough times that a bath would be appreciated. He also wanted to talk to Bardock about a few minor points in Goku's training... and maybe snitch a little food before lunch. That last thought brought a fierce grin to the teen's face, and he sped up just a little more so as to get home that much sooner. 

Back in the clearing, Vegeta was debating whether or not to follow Radditz back to the capsule house as Goku prepared to sit back down and practice his mouth blast. He didn't particularly want to go back just yet, but it didn't look like anything interesting was about to happen anytime soon, either. However, looking at the younger boy, he felt a nagging thought skitter across the surface of his brain, as though there was something he was supposed to do but had forgotten. Frowning, the prince furrowed his brow in concentration as he tried to catch the elusive thought. 

A small sigh escaped Goku's lips as he began to gather the energy he would need for the mouth blast. It was a lot more fun to practice when you had someone else with you, but Radditz had gone, and it looked like Vegeta was going to follow him soon. Glancing briefly in the older boy's direction, he suddenly perked up as he thought of a brilliant idea. He could practice his attacks _and_ have fun, if only... 

"Vegeta?" he asked hopefully, drawing the other boy's thoughts away from whatever had been holding his attention. Vegeta glared at the chibi in annoyance, but Goku ignored the look, plunging directly into his perfect plan. "Do you wanna spar?" 

~*~ 

I dunno what it is about that first scene that bothers me, but for some reason it just doesn't feel as good as the rest of this chapter. *sighs* Oh well. Anyway, if you guys were expecting a barrel of laughs, sorry! I only have little jars of it. ^_^ The whole shopping trip isn't supposed to be very big, anyway, and won't last much more than a chapter... two at most. I just couldn't stand the thought of letting everyone eat seafood for the rest of the story, and the hyper chibis was a way to make it at least semi-interesting. 

Reading back over the chapter, I think I should clarify that the relationship slowly forming between Vegeta and Bardock is _not_ one of love. You can feel free to guess, but know that I'm not going to tell you if you're right or wrong. I might not ever even get around to telling the readers what it is until Dark Future (alternate ending to WFTP where you find out what happened in the dark future Bardock foresaw.) All depends on how I feel as I write. ^_^ 

Next chapter could be late, too, 'cause I'm expecting to write a rather difficult scene. Fun (for me, anyway) but very difficult characterization. Won't tell what it is so I don't spoil it for anyone. ^_^ 

Anyway, reviews are very much appreciated. They're the duct tape that holds my fragile ego together. *points at a much-cracked and much-mended glass squirrel labeled 'Ego'* And thanks in advance. ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

"The Torn Face" by Twain-Faces, story id 807545, is a good time travel fic where Gohan is accidentally swept into a warped universe. The planet he lands on is Vegeta-sei where Vegeta is King, and Goku, dead. Confused and disoriented, Gohan tries to find his way back to his own time, and instead comes to face a horrifying crisis. Really well written. ^_^ 

"Wild Occurrences" by Burenda, story id 820176. Pan uses a prototype time machine to travel to the past, but ends up in an alternate present where Vegeta-sei still exists. T/P (nani? but which Trunks?) and Bardock even makes an appearance! I've advertised this fic before, but that was when MintlytheBADgoddess wrote it. Being unable to continue writing it, Mintly placed it up for adoption and guess who got it? Me! ^_^ 


	56. Battle of Wills

*wipes her forehead with the back of her hand* This chapter was _really_ hard! I loved writing it, but it took almost three solid days of writing to finish it! I really hope you guys like it. ^_^ 

Congratulations to Celtic Angel for being the 1400th reviewer! Umm... hmm... what to give you... I misplaced my Magic Bag O' Rewards (TM).... hey, want my fluffy ego pet? *Son Grin (TM)* He's all soft and fluffy and cuddly. Just be careful not to feed him too much. He has this tendency to try to take over the world when he gets too big. ^_^ *suddenly gets bitten by her ego pet* OW! Darn it! Er... maybe my ego pet isn't such a good idea after all. Vicious little #@)(&^!! *stuffs her ego back in its cage* Oh, hey, I know! My mom bought some marble fudge ice cream! Want some? *offers Celtic Angel a bowl of ice cream* 

kamislash- When I was doing research for last chapter, all my sources said it's the Gallic Gun attack. Unless you can _prove_ to me that it's actually the "Garlic Gun" attack, I will not change it. 

Tapion Trunks- You say you can't go SSJ if you have a tail? The sources I consulted say otherwise. Please find a way to _prove_ it and _then _I'll make up an excuse. ^_^ 

Diane- I just want to tell you how MUCH I appreciate your reviews! They're long, intelligent, insightful, they touch on ALL the key points in the chapters, they even catch the little details that I sneak in. You even notice things that most people either didn't notice or ignored in favor of the more obvious parts. Best of all, your reviews lately have been one of the things that've helped me get past my recent writer's block. Thank you! 

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I am also disclaiming all rights to Mirai Trunks and Gohan! That's right, I'm giving them up! Bardock is the only one who holds my heart now. ^_^ *latches protectively onto the spiky haired warrior* I don't actually own _him_ either, but if any of you DARE to try to take him from me... *trails off threateningly* ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Battle of Wills) 

"Vegeta? Do you wanna spar?" 

Goku's seven year old voice pierced the thought-induced fog that clouded Vegeta's brain and, blinking in surprise, he focused his attention on the younger Saiyan's hopeful face. Registering the chibi's words, he snorted in contempt and folded his arms arrogantly. "_You_ want to spar with _me_?" he scoffed, not sure whether Goku was joking or if he seriously had a death wish. _Can't he sense that I'm worlds above him in strength?_ the ten year old wondered incredulously, casually reading the boy's ki to measure it against his own. The difference in power nearly made him burst out laughing, not because he was still pathetically weak, but at the thought of someone with such a low ki challenging him, the Saiya-jin no Ouji, to spar. _What in hell gives him the idea that I'd spar with a third class like him?_

_Bardock is a third class, too,_ a derisive voice somewhere in the back of his mind sneered at the prince. _You still sparred with him! Hell, you even _asked _to fight him!_

_I did not!_ Vegeta protested defensively, wincing at the sting of truth even as he denied it. _I told him I wanted to spar with him, so it was an order, not a request. _He ignored the snort that came from the voice and continued. _And Bardock's different! He may be a third class, but he's strong! Not like Kakarot. Kakarot is too weak to even be worth my time. I can't possibly imagine what makes him think that he even has a chance against me!_

In response to his mental reasoning, the voice laughed mockingly. _And since when did _you_, the Prince of all Saiyans, give a damn about whether or not someone was too weak to fight you? That sure as hell didn't stop you from wiping out the populations of several planets, killing various and sundry aliens and Saiyans for sport, and beating the tar out of the members of the Royal Guard assigned to train you. Maybe the real reason you don't want to spar with Kakarot is because... _Vegeta could almost see the disgusted, knowing smirk on the voice's 'face' as it finished the sentence._ You don't _want_ to hurt him?_

_Shut up!_ Vegeta snarled, clenching his fists angrily. _That's not true and you know it! I don't care what happens to the weakling gaki! I just don't want to spar with him, that's all! Now shut up and leave me alone! _The voice only chuckled derisively, somehow implying without words that it knew the young prince was lying to himself. 

Oblivious to the older boy's internal conflict, Goku blinked in confusion, scratching the back of his head as he replied, "Well, sure I want to spar with you, Vegeta. Why wouldn't I?" 

Giving the boy a weird look, Vegeta quirked an eyebrow skeptically. "Baka, can't you sense my ki? Don't you realize how stupid it is to challenge the Saiya-jin no Ouji?" 

"Well..." the chibi suddenly looked guilty, digging one toe into the soft dirt as he stared down at the grass. "I can't sense ki yet. Goten and Trunks tried to teach me but..." Shrugging, Goku lifted his head to smile sheepishly at the Saiyan Prince. "I couldn't seem to figure it out. But I bet you're really strong!" he finished enthusiastically, swishing his tail back and forth with excitement. "I mean, you beat my brother and you can spar with my dad, and they're both a lot stronger than me! And I wanna test my strength against you, and it'd be lots more fun to practice my attacks in a spar than on my own!" 

"Idiot. You wouldn't last a minute against me," Vegeta protested incredulously. _He doesn't have any idea what he's getting himself into!_

"So? I want to fight the strongest fighters there are so I can become as strong as them!" he stated confidently. "Even if you beat me, I'll still learn something, and it'll help me get stronger so that someday I'll be as good as you are!" 

_He thinks he can become as strong as me?!_ the ten year old growled inwardly, his pride stung by the brat's casual reasoning. Narrowing his eyes, he whipped his tail around his waist and shifted his feet into a fighting stance. _This third class needs a lesson in humility,_ he thought contemptuously, an arrogant smirk gracing his lips. "All right, then, Kakarot! If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" 

A grin of anticipation crossed the younger child's face as he positioned his legs and arms appropriately. "Great! Thank you, Vegeta!" he chirped happily. As an afterthought, he awkwardly pulled his tail to encircle his waist, then repositioned his feet to account for the change in balance. "I'm ready when you are!" 

With a cocky nod, the young prince indicated that he, too, was prepared. The two boys eyed each other's defenses for a moment, and Vegeta's smirk broadened. _I could easily defeat him with one blow,_ he mused silently, waiting for Goku to make the first move. _But that would end this too quickly, and he needs to learn that he is no match for me and never will be. I think I'll toy with him for a while._ With this plan in mind, Vegeta purposefully loosened his guard without making it obvious that he was doing so, knowing full well that the younger Saiyan would take advantage of it and launch his attack. 

True to his prediction, Goku darted forward and aimed a fist for his opponent's stomach, falling blindly into Vegeta's trap. The older boy grinned confidently and raised his hand to catch the other child's fist.... and missed. Still unused to the change of balance that tucking his tail around his waist caused, Goku stumbled just before he reached his target and his fist swung wildly into his adversary's hip. The blow was only a glancing one, but it served to distract Vegeta enough to keep him from taking advantage of Goku's instability. Fortunately for the seven year old, he managed to catch himself before he fell over, quickly righting his body as he pivoted around to face the older boy once more. 

Vegeta glared at the spiky haired chibi, angry at the boy for actually landing a blow... and by _accident_ no less! It was all he could do to keep himself from lashing out at the younger Saiyan to avenge his wounded pride, knowing that if he did so he would probably use more power than the brat could handle. He didn't want to let Kakarot escape his proper punishment by being knocked out too early. No, this needed to drag out a lot longer and with a lot more humiliation and pain on Goku's part before Vegeta's twice-wounded pride could be satisfied. 

While the ten year old wrestled with his instincts and desire for revenge, Goku wasn't just standing by idly. Furrowing his brows with determination and concentration, he began to gather his ki, centering it in his mouth. After all, this spar wasn't just for fun; he _did_ need to practice his techniques, and he had promised his niichan that he would work on the mouth blast. As he felt the energy build above his tongue, he opened his mouth to allow more room to hold the concentration of ki and to avoid accidentally burning the roof of his mouth. His nose began to itch as the tingling energy tickled the inside of his mouth and nose, and in an effort to hold back the involuntary reaction he knew was coming he furiously rubbed his nose with a finger. Unfortunately, this wasn't the normal kind of sneeze caused by a bit of dust landing in the wrong spot, so rubbing at it did no good. 

"Ahh..." _Darn it! I can shoot the blast until it's ready, or it won't do any good!_ "Aahhh..." _No. No! I have to keep control. I can't let myself sneeze! Just... a little bit... longer..._ The energy building up in his mouth continued to spread until his tongue felt numb and his throat twinged in a way that made him want to cough. But it was his _nos_e that bothered him the most! His eyes started to water with the concentration required in ignoring this torment that felt like thousands of ants crawling around in his nasal cavity. _Only a little more ki..._

"AH-CHOO!!!" The last tiny bit of energy needed to complete the blast collected in his mouth at the exact same time as he sneezed, his mouth clicking shut involuntarily, cutting off the normal escape route for the energy in his mouth. Unable to go anywhere else, the flaring ki blasted through his nose and straight towards his opponent's face, the accompanying nasal discharge flying along behind it. 

In the two seconds that passed as Goku's attack sped towards Vegeta, the young prince eyed it critically, weighed its potential to injure him, them smirked dismissively as he raised a hand to casually bat it away. The ball of ki blasted into a nearby boulder, completely destroying it and showering the area around it with dust and pebbles, but the watery companion of the sneeze attack did no such thing, clinging to Vegeta's skin where his hand had intercepted it. Only now noticing the discharge, Vegeta's eyes widened in dismay and disgust before narrowing in a glare that could have burned a hole through a block of ice. 

"Kisama!!" he growled, his lips peeled back in a snarl of rage. Angrily wiping his hand on the blue gi he was wearing, he seriously debated ramming his defiled fist into Goku's gut. The brat certainly deserved it! He's just _sneezed_ on the Prince of the Saiyan race, even if it had been meant as an attack, and that was an affront worthy of... well... Vegeta blinked as he mentally stumbled. _Kuso... what _does_ happen when someone sneezes on the Saiya-jin no Ouji?_ To his knowledge, such a thing had never happened before, so there wasn't a punishment for it. Yet. 

"Wow, Vegeta!" Goku cheered, utterly impressed. "You just knocked my ki blast aside like it was nothing! You must be really, really strong!" 

Vegeta couldn't help the slight flush of pride that Goku's praise brought to his cheeks, momentarily forgetting his anger at being sneezed on. As simple as it was, the chibi's praise was so honest and heartfelt that the prince _knew_ he meant every word of it, and for some reason, that meant more to him than the fearful respect he was used to receiving. "You haven't seen anything yet, Kakarot!" he boasted proudly as he began to gather his energy. _If he thinks bouncing a little ki blast like that was impressive, just wait 'til he sees my Gallic Gun!_

As Vegeta placed his palms to face his opponent, Goku stood there watching curiously. It looked like Vegeta was preparing to do some sort of attack, but he didn't recognize the odd pose. However, once the ki that the young prince was gathering began to spark and glow around the boy's hands, Goku suddenly realized that Vegeta _wasn't_ intending to attack physically. He was going to use a ki attack! Battle instincts kicking into gear, the seven year old pushed aside his curiosity and placed the heels of his palms together. _The best way to fight ki is with ki,_ he thought to himself, smiling with anticipation. 

"Kame...." Pulling his cupped hands to the side, he began to concentrate all his energy into one point between them. He remembered how surprised Radditz had been when he used a Kamehameha on him, so maybe Vegeta would be surprised, too. 

"Gallic..." _I wonder what he's doing. It looks like some sort of energy attack... have I seen it before? Maybe when he was sparring with his brother back on that island. As I recall, it wasn't that powerful. It probably only caught Radditz off guard, or else it would never have even hit him. Well, whatever it is, it won't do you any good, Kakarot!_

"Hame..." Even though he couldn't sense ki, Goku knew that he would need every bit of energy he could glean from his young body just to battle Vegeta's attack. Sweat slicked his face from the intensity of his concentration as he crammed every stray bit of ki into the glowing blue ball he held in his cupped hands. _Almost ready..._

"Gun..." _Better not make it too powerful. After all, I'm not trying to _kill_ him..._ Allowing some of the energy to dissipate, he smirked once the attack reached the size he wanted it to be. _Let's see what you've got, Kakarot._

"HA!!!" 

"FIRE!!!" 

Blue fire and red lightning shot out from the boys' hands and met with a thunderous crash in the space between them. Goku panted heavily as he continued to pour his ki into the beam, feeling weaker and weaker by the second but determined not to give up. This was one spar that he was determined to fight until it reached its conclusion with either him or Vegeta as the victor. He _would not_ throw in the towel this time! His resolve strengthened, the little seven year old let out a fierce battle cry and forced everything he had into the blue beam, his blood singing in his veins at the sheer joy of the challenge before him. It didn't even register in his mind that he should be surprised that he was holding his own against Vegeta's attack, preoccupied as he was with the thrill of the fight. 

Vegeta, however, was was shocked. _He's... he's matched my Gallic Gun! Even if it's not at full strength, he shouldn't have the power to hold it at bay!_ A fierce scowl of determination hardened his features and he lowered his stance a little to gain better balance. _Fine then, Kakarot! If that's the way you want to play, then so be it!_ A deep throated growl rumbled from his chest and he swiftly powered up, a blue-white aura surrounding his ten year old body, and the flaring red beam instantly doubled in size as it blasted towards the straining chibi at the other side of the clearing. Goku's Kamehameha suddenly seemed pitifully inadequate in comparison to his opponent's Gallic Gun, and it could no longer stand up to the onslaught of energy. The little Saiyan's eyes widened just before the crimson ki smashed the Kamehameha aside and engulfed him with its searing intensity. He didn't even have a chance to scream. 

As the light of the battle faded, a triumphant smirk played across Vegeta's face and he studied the destruction left in the wake of his Gallic Gun. There was a long, barren trench in the ground that ran for several meters before it ended, rubble and debris strewn liberally to either side of the ditch. Nothing that had stood in the beam's path had survived. Boulders had been reduced to gravel, trees turned into splinters, and there, at the end of the gouge, lay Goku's crumpled body. 

"Come on, Kakarot! Get up and fight! You'll never get stronger if you give up so easily!" Vegeta's voice was cheerfully mocking as the ten year old sauntered over to where his adversary lay. The younger boy had obviously been throwing his best at the prince, and it had been a matter of child's play for Vegeta to brush it aside like the pathetic attack that it was. Yes, it _had_ been stronger than he'd expected, but the only reason it had stood up to his Gallic Gun for so long was because he had been going easy on his opponent. He had still won, thus proving that _he_ was the superior fighter. A victory that brought a warm rush of pride to his heart. 

As the young prince drew closer to his fallen foe, the odor of burned flesh tickled his nose, washing away the euphoria of victory with its sickly sweet scent, and Vegeta suddenly realized that Goku wasn't even twitching. He was just... lying there, motionless, not even a perceptible rise and fall of his chest. Granted, the boy was lying face down in the dirt, so it would be hard to tell if he was breathing unless he was flipped over, but there still should have been _some_ movement! Tendrils of smoke rose from the young Saiyan's body, mostly from the charred bits of Goku's gi where it had been burned away by the ki blast, and dissipated in the faint breath of wind that stirred the boy's singed spikes of hair. 

A sudden, gnawing doubt nibbled at the edges of Vegeta's conscience as he knelt beside the obviously unconscious child, and placed a tentative hand on Goku's bare shoulder. Feeling just a little guilty about overdoing the ki blast, the Saiyan Prince bit his lip and gently shook the boy in an attempt to wake him up. "Kakarot?" he asked uncertainly, waiting for a few anxious moments to see if the little Saiyan would stir. When Goku didn't respond, Vegeta carefully slipped his hands underneath the chibi's body and, as gently as possible, rolled him onto his back- 

-and felt the blood drain from his face. 

~*~. 

Notice how I conveniently have all my author notes at the top? That's so I can RUUUUUUNNNN!!!!! *cackles evilly as she scampers off the screen before the readers can chase after her* 

Oh, and, please review. ^_^ 

(No story advertising today. Ff.net has been acting so buggy that it's a miracle I even got the chapter uploaded. Haven't been able to read many fics, though. Sorry!) 


	57. Windows of the Soul

Know what? I had this chapter sitting on my computer for over a WEEK! I was JUST about to post it when ff.net went down. *shakes her head ruefully* Curse ff.net, ne? Making you guys sit with that evil, evil cliff hanger for a whole WEEK (and some). *laughs* Poor readers. 

AHH!! What's this?! Ff.net has taken out the review count? GAH! Well, I've lodged my complaint about that, but unless they change it back, I won't be keeping track of the number of reviews I get. No more 100 reviewer mentions! *sighs* 

Even worse, though, is that for some strange reason, I can't review anymore! GAH! I can upload chapters, but I CAN'T REVIEW ANY STORIES! Even unsigned reviews! *cries* Is the world out to get me or something?! It's not fair! 

A/N: Vegeta doesn't have his gloves on. I know this seems OOC to some of you, but he only has ONE pair of gloves (Bulma didn't buy him any gloves at the mall), and I guess I forgot to mention that they're in the laundry basket right now. So, yes, Veggie's bare-handed at this point! 

Yes, Gyarikku-ho COULD be translated into "Garlic." (That whole thing of r's being pronounced as either r or l or sometimes both.) But can any of you HONESTLY imagine Vegeta saying "Garlic Gun Fire!" ? *snorts with amusement* Besides, Gallic Gun is the English Dub name, and I happen to like it. So, Gallic Gun it is! 

Gaki- brat; kid; ghoul. (There may be other definitions, but these will suffice.) 

Disclaimer: I just used every last drop of creative juice on this chapter and you think I can just crank out a disclaimer? Bah! I don't own DBZ, so let's just leave it at that. 

Thanks to everyone who helped me on this chapter and the last one! I can't remember who all of you are right off the bat, but I just wanted you to know that I really appreciated the help. ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Windows of the Soul) 

Blood. So much blood! Crimson liquid seemed to ooze from every visible square inch of Goku's flesh, mingling with the dirt and grass that he had been lying face down in only moments before and speckled with bits of burnt and broken flesh. The sickeningly sweet stench of charred flesh rose to greet Vegeta's nostrils, making the boy gag despite all his self control. Goku's skin was crisped and blistered all along his face, neck, shoulders, arms, and chest - the area which had taken the brunt of Vegeta's attack. Cracks riddled the chibi's burned and reddened flesh from which small rivers of blood and a clearish yellow fluid seeped, making what was visible of the little Saiyan's body appear to be one massive, raw wound. 

Reaching out with a hand that was suddenly trembling, Vegeta hesitantly touched Goku's bleeding face, as though he couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. His fingers came away covered with the chibi's sticky blood, and he stared at his hand in shock for several long moments before returning his stunned gaze to the injured child on the ground. 

_I... I did this,_ it finally registered in his numb mind. His breathing felt rapid, painful, and his heart was beating faster than it should have been. He had witnessed misery, suffering, torture, even death a countless number of times, had seen almost every way there was to inflict pain on a living body, had even personally dealt injury and death to unnumbered millions, warrior and innocent alike, and yet nothing had ever affected him like _this_ before. This... he hadn't _meant_ to do this! _I only wanted to win..._

Giving himself a rough mental shake, he shoved aside his own reactions and concentrated on the other boy, making his face a blank mask that showed nothing of what he was feeling inside. Knowing that he had to do something, Vegeta leaned over Goku's body and placed his ear next to the little Saiyan's mouth, listening intently for any sign of breathing. The air between his ear and Goku's mouth stirred slightly, indicating that the seven year old was breathing, albeit shallowly. Vegeta straightened up, sighing with relief that, if he had been thinking about it, would have surprised him. Goku was alive. 

_But... now what do I do?_ the ten year old asked himself uncertainly. He had no idea what to do when someone was injured and you didn't _want_ them to die! It hadn't ever mattered to him if someone was injured, and even if it did matter, there were always guards or subjects nearby to take care of the wounded, so he had no experience in this area. The only thing he knew was that if you were hurt badly, you were taken to a regeneration tank. But there were no regeneration tanks on Chiykuu-sei. There were no lackeys to delegate the matter to. There was only him and Goku, and he had no clue what to do. 

"Bardock," he muttered to himself as he stared helplessly at the burned and blistered boy in front of him. The older warrior had to have more experience with things like this. He had been on a planet clearing team for many years, and when you were off wiping a planet of its intelligent life, you didn't always have the luxury of regeneration tanks. Tending the injuries of fallen comrades was a necessary skill to have for those missions, and Bardock had probably had to acquire and use such knowledge on many occasions. "Bardock would know what to do. I'll take Kakarot back to the house... and Bardock will help him." 

In his slightly dazed state of mind, he didn't question _why_ he wanted to help Goku, he only knew that he needed to keep the younger boy from dying. Taking a deep breath, he awkwardly slid one arm underneath his fallen opponent's neck and the other beneath his knees, then staggered to his feet. While not as big as he was, the chibi was still large enough that carrying him without dropping him would prove a difficult task. But it was the only way to transport the injured boy without doing even more damage to him, and Vegeta was determined not to let a little thing like Goku's unwieldy body daunt him in the slightest. 

The rough shift in the position of his body elicited a pathetic whimper from Goku, drawing Vegeta's attention back to the burden he was carrying. The jolt of pain caused by being picked up had dragged Goku back to consciousness, and now his peeling eyelids had cracked open enough to reveal his eyes to the Prince of the Saiyans. A shudder of revulsion rippled through his body when he looked at the chibi's eyes, eyes that held no pupil but were, instead, a solid, milky white and no longer resembled his normally glassy orbs. They were slightly misshapen now, as though someone had poured hot, white wax in place of his eyes and allowed it to congeal there. A lump suddenly formed in Vegeta's throat as he stared in horror, transfixed by chibi's sightless pools of ivory. Goku had obviously had his eyes open when the Gallic Gun had hit him. 

Tears leaked from seven year old's ruined eyes, making clear trails through the blood that covered his face, and he moaned again, a sound somewhere between a sob and a strangled cry. "Tousan?" he whimpered, blinking his eyes in a vain attempt to see. When this did nothing to solve the problem, Goku raised a blistered hand to his eyes and gently touched the charred flesh of his eyelids, an action that only caused him to cry out in agony. 

"I'm not your father, Kakarot," Vegeta muttered gruffly, finally remembering to take off from the ground and begin the flight back to the house. "And quit being such a baby. You're not hurt _that_ badly," he lied, turning his head guiltily to one side so he didn't have to see the boy's pained expression. "And you probably shouldn't touch your face," he added uncomfortably, discreetly trying to prevent Goku from causing himself any more pain. It was a concept he was unused to - saying things to comfort or help someone. He hoped that it sounded better to Goku's ears than it did to his own. 

"V-Vegeta?" Goku asked plaintively, shifting his head towards the source of the prince's voice. He blinked his watery eyes again as the tears they contained continued to trickle down his cheeks. "Why can't I see?" he whispered fearfully. 

Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Vegeta stared woodenly in the direction of their destination, pretending that he hadn't heard the child's question. The chill wind created by traveling as fast as they were whipped through his hair and lifted away bits of Goku's charred gi, raising goose bumps on his skin which the prince ignored. Goku, however, shivered and began to cry softly, turning his head to bury it in his bearer's shirt, only to stop short when even brushing the cloth against his face induced such intense agony that he yelped in pain. "V-Vege-ta," he sobbed incoherently. "It h-hurts." 

Flinching guiltily, the ten year old boy slowed down a little bit to lessen the effects of the wind, his mind fumbling for words to say to the chibi in his arms. "I didn't mean to," he stammered defensively. "I mean, I wasn't trying to hurt you, Kakarot. At least, not like this." Lowering his eyes to the forest below in shame, he added softly, "I... didn't mean to do this to you." _I should have been more careful. I should have had more control! The Saiya-jin no Ouji is supposed to have control at all times, and I... I _lost_ control of something as simple as my own attack!_

_Father would be ashamed to call me his son._

A wordless whimper of pain was Goku's only response to the young prince's words, and the younger Saiyan drooped his eyelids to cover the dead orbs beneath them. Staring at the child for a long moment, Vegeta's mind was involuntarily drawn back to his earlier conversation with Trunks. It seemed like he was always hurting Goku... even when he didn't mean to... was he really the monster he had once accused Goku of being? Even as he watched, tears continued to seep from the chibi's closed eyes and seemingly into Vegeta's soul. 

Unbidden, words that he had spoken to Bardock what seemed like ages ago filtered into his mind. _We all do things we shouldn't, and it is up to us to take responsibility for what we have done._

_It's kinda your fault Goku got hurt in the first place!_ Trunks voice spoke up from another memory, another conversation discussing how he, Vegeta, had brought injury upon this seven year old Saiyan in his arms. _You have to make amends for your actions._

_I am the Saiya-jin no Ouji_, Vegeta mentally whispered to himself, uncertain about what exactly that meant now. At one time he had thought he knew what it meant to be the prince of a warrior race but now... he wasn't so sure of himself. Gnawing his lip in self-doubt, the ten year old prince studied his chibi companion's bloody, tormented face for a few more seconds, wrestling with himself over what he was about to do. 

_Just how many Saiyan kids are you going to be able to play with? And how many of them would treat you like a playmate, and not the Saiya-jin no Ouji? If you don't apologize to Goku and make friends with him, as soon as Goten and I go home, you're going to be alone again!_

_I... I don't want to be alone anymore._

Blinking rapidly to clear away the memories, Vegeta drew in a ragged breath and, before he could change his mind, he blurted out, "I'm sorry about your grandpa." He closed his eyes in shame, although he didn't really know what it was he was ashamed of. Was it shame for apologizing to a lowly third class? Or was he instead ashamed of hurting Goku in the first place? He didn't know which it was. 

Vegeta waited several long moments for Goku's response. Was he going to ridicule the young prince for being so soft, or for thinking that he might possibly be forgiven for what he'd done? Or would he... would he accept the apology? Trunks said it would be the second, but a gnawing doubt continued to wriggle in the back of his mind, planted there by years of life on Vegeta-sei among people who would unfailingly punish him for showing anything resembling the weaker emotions. After living almost all his short life like that, he couldn't help but half-expect Goku to prove himself to be like the others and scorn Vegeta for what he'd just allowed himself to say. 

When the wounded chibi made no sound whatsoever, Vegeta cracked open his eyes to peer down at the boy in his arms. Goku's eyes were still closed, but the limp way in which his head rested against his bearer's arm told Vegeta that the boy had slipped back into unconsciousness. Not knowing exactly when that had happened, the chibi prince didn't even know for certain if Goku had heard his apology, a possibility that brought a mixture of relief and annoyance to his heart. If the seven year old Saiyan hadn't heard him, then there would be no chance of ridicule and mockery... but it would also mean that the apology had been in vain. And he didn't know if he'd ever have the courage to confront that mockery again. Suddenly, Vegeta found himself hoping that Goku _had_ heard. Hoping for... forgiveness... acceptance... 

A friend. 

~*~ 

With Goku unconscious and Vegeta lost in thought, the rest of the flight home was fairly uneventful, the biggest challenge being to keep hold of Goku despite the slippery blood that now thoroughly covered both the injured boy and Vegeta's arms. Spotting the capsule house at last, relief flooded through the ten year old's mind and he gratefully landed a few feet from the broken door of the house, being careful to set down as gently as possible so as not to jostle Goku. The scents of cooking fish, or some other sea creature, wafted out of the open door and into his nose, reminding the young prince that the only thing he'd been smelling for the past fifteen minutes or so was the scent of Goku's charred flesh. In response to the infinitely more appetizing smells of lunch cooking, Vegeta's stomach began to rumble in anticipation. Vegeta determinedly ignored the promptings of his gut, knowing that there was something more important that needed to be done. 

Taking a step towards the entrance, Vegeta suddenly hesitated as it dawned on him exactly what it would look like to Bardock when he walked in with the warrior's dying son in his arms. After the way he'd treated Goku in the past, he wouldn't be surprised if Bardock thought he'd purposefully tried to kill the seven year old boy. He found himself afraid that the older warrior would hate him, would reject him and turn his back on him. An image of Bardock reaching his hand out to him after their spar formed in his mind, except that this time the hand was filled with deadly ki and Bardock's face was filled with anger, disgust, hate... Vegeta shuddered and swallowed a sudden lump in his throat, more disturbed by the vision than he cared to admit. 

_Bardock is the only one who can help Kakarot._ Taking a ragged breath to steady his nerves, he straightened his back and quickly took the last few steps to the door, not even pausing when he passed through the frame. He roughly shoved aside his own fears and concerns, lifting his chin with determination as he reached out with his ki senses to locate the older Saiyan, then set off in the direction of his ki. A trail of blood dotted the carpet beneath his feet as he made his way towards the kitchen, dripping from Goku's still bleeding face and chest, until at last they were there. The kitchen. And Bardock. 

Vegeta took another deep breath and stepped through the doorway, looking up to meet Bardock's startled eyes as the man chipped a bit of carbonized... something... out of the pan he was holding. The warrior's gaze swiftly shifted to the bloody burden he was carrying, and Vegeta watched as the blood visibly drained from Bardock's face, his eyes widening with shock. Dropping the pan and spatula on the table with a clatter, the older Saiyan could only stare in horror at the body of his youngest son for several long moments, a barely detectable tremble shivering his body as he stood rooted in place. 

"H-how..." he choked out hoarsely, then blinked away some of the shock. Taking two swift steps toward Vegeta, he carefully plucked the wounded child out of the prince's arms and cradled him to his chest before turning his attention back to the bloody prince. Narrowing his eyes accusingly, he began his question again, his voice tinged with the hint of a growl. "How did this happen?" 

Even as gently as he had been moved, the sudden jostling was enough to pull at Goku's cracked and peeling skin, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the seven year old. Jolted back to consciousness by the throbbing agony of his irritated wounds, the chibi sobbed pathetically as tears began to trickle from his closed eyes with renewed fervor. Bardock guiltily glanced back down at his son, ashamed that he'd brought more pain on his already suffering child, wishing that he could do something to comfort the boy. 

"I-I didn't mean to do it," Vegeta whispered, his gaze shifting from staring at the miserable chibi Saiyan to look up at Bardock with wide, haunted eyes. He had resolved not to let the warrior's reaction affect him, but that promise had flown out the window the moment Bardock's accusing eyes had met Vegeta's. "It... it was... an accident..." 

Bardock's expression darkened and he opened his mouth to say something, but caught himself when Goku interrupted him with a whimper. "Tou... san," he cried softly, opening his eyes out of habit, despite the fact that he couldn't see, and he stared up in the direction he guessed his father's face would be with his horribly white eyes. "Tousan," he sobbed again, the blood that had dripped from his cracked lips into his mouth adding a gurgle to the chibi's inarticulate plea. 

Upon sight of Goku's blind and empty eyes, Bardock's stomach heaved, threatening to forcibly empty itself of anything that might remain from breakfast. He was a warrior, and he'd seen far worse than this, but those melted white eyes belonged to his _son_. Shuddering with revulsion, he resisted the impulse to squeeze his son comfortingly, as that would only cause him more suffering, choosing instead to glower sternly at Vegeta and jerk his head towards the hall. "Come with me," he abruptly growled as he turned on one heel and stalked off in the direction of Goku's bedroom. His head bowed uncertainly, Vegeta did as he was told without question, following a few steps behind the older warrior until they walked into the dimly lit room, the only source of light being the noon sun filtering in through the window. 

Fidgeting uneasily while Bardock cast his eyes about the room for something, Vegeta could only imagine what the warrior was going to say when he turned his attention back on the young prince. He would want to know what happened, of course, and once he found out that Vegeta had lost control of himself in a fight, nearly killing Goku in the process... Staring miserably at the floor, the ten year old came to the conclusion that Bardock would lose all respect he might have had for the young prince, and that prospect made him realize how much he valued Bardock's regard. Maybe it was because Bardock respected him for himself, and not simply because he was the Saiya-jin no Ouji. 

"Vegeta," Bardock's emotionless voice broke into his reverie, bringing him back to reality and the inevitable confrontation. The mere sound of the man's voice was enough to make Vegeta flinch involuntarily, as though his father had just found out that he'd failed in some task or responsibility. His mind didn't have time to contemplate the possible implications of that comparison as he hesitantly lifted his head to meet Bardock's eyes. "The bag on the dresser contains the senzu beans Goten and Trunks acquired," Bardock stated flatly, gesturing with his head towards the furniture in question. "I don't want to jostle Goku, so I want you to get a bean and give it to him." 

Wordlessly complying with the the warrior's instructions, Vegeta floated up so he could reach the top of the dresser, grabbing the brown bag and opening it enough to slip his fingers inside. His nimble fingers took hold of one of the small, hard beans and he removed it from the bag, carefully setting the rest back on the dresser. It suddenly dawned on him that he was holding a _senzu bean_, one of those magical beans that could heal almost anything, or so Trunks had claimed back when he had explained the bean's properties after Vegeta had first been captured. Having seen them used so few times, it had been easy to forget about them, but now the ten year old fully realized that he held the means of saving Goku's life in his hand. 

Vegeta grinned despite himself and zipped over to where Bardock stood with Goku in his arms, unaware that the older Saiyan was watching his reaction intently. Hovering level to the chibi's head, the prince slid the bean between Goku's half-open, bloody lips. "Come on, Kakarot," he pleaded with the whimpering child. "Chew it so you can get better." 

Closing his eyes against the tears that still trailed down his blood encrusted cheeks, the seven year old Saiyan bit down on the bean in his mouth, crunching it loudly before swallowing. Twin sighs of relief escaped the lips of the two older Saiyans as the effects of the bean instantly set to work, healing the cracked flesh, regrowing new skin where some had fallen off or had been burned beyond redemption, smoothing away the thousands of blisters, until a few moments later there was only a bloody but perfectly healthy chibi resting in Bardock's arms. 

Peering closely at Goku's face, the young prince cautiously reached out to touch the chibi's face, wanting some sort of physical proof that the younger boy was all right. Dried blood flaked away from unbroken skin, and before he realized what he was doing, Vegeta grinned involuntarily, glancing up at Bardock in excitement to see that the warrior was wearing a relieved smile of his own. That smile abruptly faded, leaving the ten year old to wonder what the problem was, until he glanced back down at Goku. 

Goku's eyes had opened up to reveal perfectly smooth, glassy orbs, no longer misshapen or filled with tears. 

But they were still a solid, milky white. 

~*~ 

*wipes her brow* Wow... another tremendously difficult chapter. Vegeta's a tough character to portray! Especially for really long scenes! I had to have long scenes, though, 'cause I knew that I'd need to concentrate solely on what I was doing with Vegeta, no distractions from the other characters. 

*glances warily at the readers* Oh, and please don't bug me about making Vegeta "soft" or whatever. This Vegeta is NOT the same as the Vegeta of the future. He's a ten year old child who's been away from the influence of evil Saiyans, demanding fathers, or abusive aliens for the past two... three weeks... give or take. Children's characters are easily influenced by those around them, and Chibi Veggie's companions now are much different than the companions Mirai Vegeta had growing up. *shudders* Ugh. Nappa. Anyway, I think I've shown remarkable restraint in _gradually_ shifting Vegeta's character over the course of FIFTY chapters. No, Vegeta's not going to be a total pansy, but his character now will be much different from Mirai Vegeta's. 

Even so, Vegeta is a little bit out of character (even for my Vegeta) in this chapter. And that's how I intended him to come out. He's really not consciously thinking about his actions at this point in time. 

On another note, I've once again had people ask about either Gohan or the other people in the future coming into this story. People, all of that happens in the sequel! The one I've been planning since before I started Wish For The Past! WFTP concentrates almost completely on the events of the past timeline. The sequel will deal with the future timeline, its characters, and their reactions to the various events that have taken place/will take place. (And no, when I say 'sequel', I'm not talking about Dark Future.) 

I'd really appreciate opinions on my characterization (along with everything else!) in this chapter. It was _extremely_ hard work! Just don't flame me for making Chibi Veggie "soft." 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Some Dreams do Come True" by Boombubble, story id 581760, is another take on the story of Gohan and Videl, but with an extra character to spice things up. She does an EXCELLENT job on this character, making him just as real and fit in just as well as any of the other characters. It may seem a little slow at times, but that's because this author writes extremely long chapters (I'm talking on the order of 20 pages each!) and takes the time necessary to develop both her characters and her plot. A truly good fic, so go read it. ^_^ 


	58. Ouji and Chibi

This past month has been really hectic for me. My sister (who I think of as my best real life friend) went off to England for a month, my brother and his family (wife and three kids under age 8) came to visit for a few days, then another of my sisters came with her family (husband and four kids under age 8) to visit for ten days. This naturally cut into my computer time a _lot_, as I was often called on to baby-sit, was constantly pestered by the chibis, and many times got involved in lengthy conversations. On top of all that, I had severe writer's block (probably due to depression, which I'm prone to getting from time to time). 

But now my sister's back from England (yay!) and even though I still have family visiting, I seem to have gotten over the writer's block. They'll be leaving in a couple of days, but don't get your hopes up that I'll be back in full writing gear. In about a week, I'll have yet more family (sister, her husband, and their three kids) visiting for an indefinite period of time. *sweatdrops* I seem to be having a lot of family visiting this summer. Guess that happens when you have a large family (I have three brothers and four sisters). ^_^* 

Anyway, congratulations to DarkSerapha for being the 1500th reviewer! (Yay! Ff.net brought back up the review count. Only on the story pages, but at least it's there. ^_^ I can also review again! *grins*) Someone seems to have switched my Bag O' Rewards (TM) with my sister's diaper bag, though. -_-; Hmm... surely there's some good junk.. er.. treasures lying around in my room that I can give you... *eyes the hazardous site known as her room* Ah, there we go! You can have my jar of peanuts. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: *bangs head on desk* I *bang* don't *bang* own *bang* DBZ! *bang* *rubs her head* Ow. Disclaimers are such a pain. *grins at the pun* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Ouji and Chibi) 

Upon completing her shopping, Bulma carefully placed the newly acquired capsules in her purse and stepped proudly out the door of the grocery store... And into a scene of utter chaos. Water still spewed with the intensity of a geyser where there had once been a fire hydrant, a puddle of cold, hard plastic spread itself across the sidewalk, a nearby toy store had suffered a broken window... Bulma's eyes widened as she took in the scene, and the suddenly realized that the damage was not just local but all over the city. At least, that's what the plumes of smoke rising into the air and the sounds of sirens from all over the city told her dazed mind. 

The intelligence that she had been gifted with at birth finally kicked in, and the blue haired girl blinked away the shock. First things first, she needed to find the boys and make sure they were all right. Walking briskly over to the capsule car, she peered inside and smiled as she saw both demi-Saiyans in the back seat, curled up next to each other sound asleep. She furrowed her brow in puzzlement as she took in the state of their clothes - Goten was wearing a green grocery sack and Trunks had what looked like strings of cotton candy dangling from his shirt - but guessed that they must have been playing some kind of game while waiting for her. At their feet were two plastic ice cream buckets, both completely devoid of any ice cream except for a few smears here and there. Similar sticky trails adorned the faces of the two sleeping chibis, telling a tale that needed no words. She didn't even notice the teddy bear that Goten clutched in his arms protectively. 

"You two are so adorable when you're asleep," she cooed softly, pulling out a newly bought Polaroid camera. They looked so peaceful and innocent like that, she couldn't help but take a few pictures. Carefully placing the snapshots in her purse, she got into the driver's seat and started the car. "Well, I'll just let you two sleep until we get back. Kami knows we've got a long journey ahead of us just finding those other four dragonballs." So saying, she revved the gas pedal and took off into the sky, leaving behind a bewildered city picking up the pieces left from the brief reign of terror of two chibis named Saiyaman and Sugar Boy. 

Unbeknownst to the boys from the future, this had inadvertently altered history to where Saiyaman was now considered an evil villain in what would soon become a popular comic book series, thus depriving a certain half-breed named Gohan of his super hero identity of preference. The poor demi-Saiyan would now be forced to play the part of the mysterious Gold Fighter, unwittingly saving himself and the citizens of Orange Star City much embarrassment and humiliation, since a Super Saiyan would _never_ borrow poses from Sailor Moon! 

~*~ 

For one brief moment, Bardock felt as though his heart had stopped beating in his chest. His mind railed at him that this wasn't supposed to happen, that it _couldn't_ happen. Not to his son! Goku had eaten one of the magical senzu beans, and his eyes had obviously healed, considering that they had lost their misshapen look, so why were they still white?! 

And then Goku blinked. 

When he opened his eyes again, the chibi looked up at his father with perfectly normal eyes, black pupils focused inquisitively on Bardock's face. _He must have had his eyes rolled up in his head,_ he realized with intense relief. Shoulders sagging with the release of tension, the smile returned to his face in full force as it dawned on him that his son was well and truly whole. 

A barely audible sigh of relief drew Bardock's attention to the other boy in the room, catching Vegeta in the act of smiling genuinely at the sight of Goku's fully healed eyes. The older Saiyan felt the smile on his own lips fade as he stared at the young prince, trying to sort out his feelings toward the boy. Vegeta was almost certainly the one to blame for Goku's injuries, but he had claimed that whatever he had done was an accident. _How does someone 'accidentally' burn half of a child's body, not to mention roasting his eyes to the point where Goku would have been permanently blind, if not for the senzu bean?_ his angry thoughts asked as he narrowed his eyes briefly. Before he could voice any accusations, though, the image of Vegeta's haunted eyes as he carried the wounded chibi in flicked in front of his mind's eye, followed by the look of pure joy on the prince's face as he held the senzu bean in his hand. In fact, he had sounded... concerned... as he pleaded with Goku to eat the little brown bean. And now... now he was _smiling_. 

With a start, Bardock realized that Vegeta's guard was down, that what he was seeing was a glimpse at the ten year old's true self. The boy hovered in the air, his chest level with Goku's head so he could peer anxiously down the younger child, as the carefully constructed facade he had worn almost all of his life dropping away for a few moments as genuine concern etched itself into his features. No longer the proud and arrogant Saiya-jin no Ouji, no longer the cold and callous warrior prince, no longer even the strong and rebellious boy, Vegeta, stripped of everything he tried to be for other people, acting only as himself, appeared simply to be a child whose friend had just been hurt badly, but was better now. 

As though he could feel Bardock's eyes on him, Vegeta suddenly looked up to catch the older Saiyan's scrutinizing gaze. In an instant, the ten year old's face became blank and emotionless, as though an iron portcullis in his mind had slammed shut with an almost audible _clang!_ Vegeta dropped back to the floor, back straight and chin held high as he stared directly ahead, barely even blinking. His posture and stance reminded Bardock of a soldier who had failed in some task but was determined to accept his punishment stoically. 

The reaction left Bardock thoroughly confused, his brow furrowing in puzzlement as he tried to analyze what had just happened. _He realized that I saw him showing concern, but I don't get the impression that that's what made him react like this. It's more like he shut himself off in preparation for my reaction, not as a reaction to the emotions he was displaying. He's expecting me to retaliate, and cutting himself off from his feelings is his way of protecting himself._ He was guessing there, of course, since a few weeks was hardly a long enough time to truly get to know someone, but those speculations felt right. _But that would imply that he feels that whatever I might say or do could somehow hurt him emotionally, otherwise there would be no need to block off his feelings from himself. And that would mean that he actually cares about what I think._

"Tousan?" Goku asked, cutting into Bardock's train of thought. Returning his attention to the child in his arms, Bardock found his son staring up at him curiously. "Is something wrong?" 

Bardock pursed his lips and regarded Vegeta for a moment longer, surprised to note a look of despondency or resignation on the boy's face, as though he was expecting to hear a pronouncement of doom. With mixed emotions weighing his tongue down, the older Saiyan opened his mouth to reply. "I... don't think so, Goku," he said slowly, still watching Vegeta intently as he tried to sort out how he was feeling towards the child. He guessed that the boy had been the cause of his son's second near-death experience, as well as the first, so his first impulse was anger for the pain Vegeta had caused his youngest son. But after seeing the effect Goku's injuries had had on the prince, Bardock couldn't find it in his heart to hate the boy. Vegeta had seemed genuinely upset by Goku's pain, and then pleased with the younger Saiyan's recovery. _I think maybe he was telling the truth when he said 'it was an accident.' Whatever it was that happened._ Even so, he would need a little time to calm down before he could question Vegeta about the incident, or else he might jump to the wrong conclusions about the ten year old's intentions. Returning his attention to Goku's still-bloody face, he added, "Other than the fact that, once again, you need a bath. Honestly, Goku, can't you go one day without getting so dirty that the only option is to put you in the tub?" Bardock was all for a moderate amount of cleanliness, when possible, but this was getting ridiculous! The boy had had to have a bath nearly every day since they had first met! 

"I'm sorry, tousan," Goku apologized sheepishly. "I don't _mean_ to get dirty... it just happens." 

His mouth quirking up into a smile, the warrior set his son on the floor and took hold of one of his hands. Bardock glanced in Vegeta's direction, noting that the young prince still seemed to be waiting anxiously. "Vegeta." A slight flinch, imperceptible unless you were looking for it, twitched the ten year old's body. "Goku and I will be in the bathroom." _Where I can get him cleaned up... and try to sort out my thoughts,_ he added silently as he led his son out of the bedroom, leaving Vegeta standing there with a slightly startled and confused expression on his face. 

~*~ 

_Why didn't he question me?_ Vegeta stared at the open door where Bardock had disappeared through, feeling almost dazed. He had prepared himself for the worst, knowing that the older Saiyan had grown protective of his youngest son, knowing what it must have looked like when Vegeta had carried the severely injured chibi in. So why hadn't Bardock reacted in the way he had expected? Why hadn't Bardock snapped angrily at Vegeta, or demanded an explanation? He hadn't _ignored_ the prince, per se, not in the way that would tell him that the warrior was intentionally ignoring him, but Bardock had hardly treated him any different than he normally did. _Maybe... maybe he's not mad at me. Maybe he believed me when I said it was an accident,_ he thought, perking up a little. 

_I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you,_ the oh-so-familiar voice in his mind taunted. _Bardock just has his priorities straight. Giving his son a bath is more important to him than interrogating a baka like you. Don't worry. When he's done, I'm sure he'll find time to punish you for nearly killing his son._

For once, Vegeta couldn't think of anything to say to the mocking voice in his head. Shoulders drooping in defeat, he trudged over to Goku's bed and crawled under the sheets. _You're right..._ he conceded dispiritedly, curling up into a ball facing away from the door. _Kakarot's more important to him than I am, or ever will be. _"After all, I'm not his son, I'm only the Saiya-jin no...... No. I'm just the _Chibi_ no Ouji," he whispered harshly. "And not a very good one, either. Kakarot is my subject and I can't even protect him from myself. I couldn't control one simple attack, and I couldn't even help heal him because I'm too stupid and ignorant to know even the most basic field medicine. I'm supposed to be the Prince of a warrior race, and a third class soldier knows more about treating wounds than I do!" Angrily blinking back a tear that threatened to form in his eye, he set his face in a firm, familiar scowl. "Vegeta-sei doesn't need a weakling idiot like me for a king. When this is all over, maybe I should just stay here on Earth and let them find someone else to be king." 

Unable to maintain it any longer, the scowl on Vegeta's face faded into a more miserable expression. _I don't deserve to be the Saiya-jin no Ouji. I'm just a worthless failure who's always letting people down. _Wrapping his tail around his ankles, he stared listlessly out the window at the sunny world beyond, oblivious to the cheerful scenery. Resigned to his fate, he awaited his inevitable punishment in silence. He'd take what was coming to him - he did deserve it, after all. 

~*~ 

After removing what remained of the burned and bloodied gi he had been wearing, Goku hopped into the steaming water in the tub with a delighted laugh, leaving a cloud of blood and dirt in his wake. Despite the fact that he didn't really _like_ baths, he was just as glad to be rid of the sticky aftermath of his spar with Vegeta. Well, it wasn't that he didn't like baths, it was more that the concept was too new to him for him to really appreciate them. He was so used to running around in the wild without a care for what got on him, with fishing and being caught in rain storms being the only times he truly got wet. The idea of purposefully getting in a tub of water to remove normal dirt and grime had been completely foreign to him until Bulma had made him take a bath when they first met. His Grandpa Gohan might have given him baths when he was younger, but he didn't really remember. 

Now he had found his dad and it seemed like he had to take a bath almost every day for one reason or another. After taking so many baths, he had to admit that he was beginning to enjoy them a little. The warm water on his skin was relaxing, and soap bubbles were nothing short of pure fun! Not to mention the fact that he didn't seem to itch as much after scrubbing away all the dirt, or dried blood in this case. Speaking of which... 

Taking a deep breath, he plunged his head under water, using his fingers to work out the blood that matted his spiky black hair. He'd still have to put that shampoo stuff in to get it clean, but it was driving him nuts having his hair stiff - well, stiffer than normal - and sticky and glued to his head in all sorts of weird positions! Satisfied that he had gotten out as much of the gore that he was going to with just water, Goku came up for air and began looking around for the now familiar bottle of shampoo. 

Casting his eyes around the bathroom, the seven year old suddenly noticed his father sitting next to the tub, staring moodily off into space. Shampoo forgotten, Goku waded over to where the older Saiyan was sitting and, tugging on Bardock's shirt, he asked, "Is something wrong, tousan?" 

Startled out of his thoughts, Bardock glanced down at the boy standing waist deep in the soapy water, his mind finally registering what his son had asked. Goku waited patiently for his father to reply. He knew how hard it could be to say what you were thinking in a way that other people would understand, which was obviously what Bardock was trying to do right now. 

After another few moments of silence, the older Saiyan finally spoke. "Goku..." he said carefully. "How exactly did you get hurt?" 

Glad that what was bothering his dad wasn't as serious as he had feared, Goku rubbed the back of his dripping head and grinned cheerfully up at Bardock. "Oh, that! Well, y'see, Radditz and I were practicing out in the forest, and he wanted to go take a bath, so he told me to keep practicing my mouth blast." The grin turned a little sheepish. "It kept coming out of my nose because it tickles so much that I sneeze!" Oblivious to the amused expression on his father's face, the chibi rubbed his nose at the memory and continued his explanation. "But practicing by myself isn't as much fun as sparring, and Vegeta was there, so I thought maybe I could practice my mouth blast and spar at the same time. So I asked him if he'd spar with me, and at first he didn't want to. I think maybe he thought I was too weak and he didn't want to hurt me, but I convinced him to spar anyway. I mean, how can I get stronger if I don't fight other strong people?" Eyes widening with excitement, Goku waved his arms around to help express his feelings. "And, dad, Vegeta's _strong_! I mean _really_ strong! Maybe even as strong as you are! We didn't get to spar for long, but I don't think I've _ever_ had more fun! I messed up on my mouth blast again, but the fight was _great_! Vegeta did this really cool attack, Garlic Gun or Gallic Gun or something like that, and I countered it with my Kamehameha. I think I put _all_ of my energy into that attack, and..." the seven year old paused dramatically, absolute glee written all over his face. "Vegeta still beat me! He didn't have to knock it aside or anything, he just used his own attack to overpower my Kamehameha! I'm hoping maybe he'll spar with me again and teach me how to do that! That would be so cool!" 

Surprise and confusion flickered across Bardock's face all while Goku chattered away. At the end of the explanation, a frown creased his father's brow. "But how did you end up in the half fried condition you were in when Vegeta brought you here?" he asked, cocking his head to one side inquisitively, his eyes searching his son's face for something, though Goku had no idea what he was looking for. 

Scratching the back of his head thoughtfully, the chibi idly rubbed some dirt out of his tail with his other hand before answering. "I think that happened when Vegeta's Gallic Gun hit my Kamehameha. I held him off at first, but then his ki got so strong that it just swallowed my blast and then hit me." Remembering how much it had hurt when Vegeta's attack had engulfed him, Goku shuddered a little and looked down at the bath water. "I don't remember much after that, except that it hurt a lot." Not allowing his father a chance to say anything, Goku lifted his head to peer up at Bardock anxiously. "But Vegeta didn't mean to hurt me! He said he was sorry, and I believe him!" he stated firmly. 

"Vegeta apologized to you?" Bardock asked incredulously, surprise etched into his features. Goku briefly wondered why his dad was surprised, but quickly brushed his curiosity away so he could answer the question. 

"Uh huh," Goku replied, nodding his head simply. "And then he flew me back home. I think I fell asleep on the way, 'cause I don't remember much after he said that. At least, not until I woke up with you holding me." A vague memory tickled at the back of his mind and he furrowed his brow in thought. He could remember Vegeta telling him not to touch his face, and that he hadn't meant to hurt him... but he'd also said something else. The memory was all fuzzy because he'd been in a lot of pain and he'd been feeling really tired, but it felt important somehow. 

"I think I need to talk with Vegeta," the soft voice of his father interrupted his train of thought, causing the memory of whatever it was Vegeta had said to vanish like smoke. Goku looked up at Bardock curiously, wondering what the older Saiyan wanted to talk to Vegeta about. He opened his mouth and was about to ask, but Bardock cut him off. "Do you think you can finish cleaning up by yourself?" 

Goku took a moment to seriously consider the question, scratching the back of his head in thought. He figured after all the baths he'd had to take recently, he pretty much knew how to get himself clean, but he had yet to actually take a bath on his own. No, he wasn't scared or anything like that, especially since he was used to fishing in rivers and lakes much larger than a tub of water, but he'd found that he liked having company while bathing. It made an otherwise somewhat dull task into something more interesting. But he couldn't always have someone there with him, he knew, and if his father wanted to go somewhere else, then it would be childish to insist that he stay. Goku didn't want his father to think he was a baby. "Yeah, that's okay, tousan." 

In a gesture to emphasize his ability to take care of himself, Goku reached down into the water to grab a washcloth that had fallen in, and so missed the small, affectionate smile that briefly crossed Bardock's face. Standing up with washcloth in hand, the seven year old gave his father a cheerful smile, to which Bardock responded by grinning and tousling his son's damp hair. "All right, then, I'll leave you to your bath. If you need something, I shouldn't be too far away." That said, the older warrior stood up and walked out of the bathroom. Once the door clicked shut behind him, the room suddenly seemed a lot emptier, but Goku was determined not to let it affect him. With a sigh of resignation, the black haired chibi sat down in the tub and began the process of scrubbing away the rest of the grime on his body. 

~*~ 

All right, I admit it. I ended the last chapter like that _just_ to make you guys think I'd made Goku blind. ^_^ For a short time, that was my intention, too, but I changed my mind (and before I wrote the last chapter). In fact, I scrapped the whole outline for this chapter _twice_ before settling on this one, with each outline being very different from each other. I debated continuing on to the Bardock and Vegeta confrontation in this chapter (I already have the outline for that written up, too) but that would have delayed the posting of this chapter even more. Besides, this chapter was beginning to get lengthy, and you all were starting to get rather impatient. *glances at various reviews begging/demanding another chapter, or wondering if she intended to continue writing* *snorts* 

Gangsta Videl - This story doesn't really have a specific "main character," besides Bardock. Ff.net restricted me to a choice of two main characters (and Bardock is not on their list), though, so I chose Goten and Trunks. In reality, though, the group in general is the "main character," with the focus shifting periodically from one person to another. 

DarkSerapha - While I don't really mind other authors writing yaoi fics (I'm not a homophobe), I myself do not read or write yaoi fiction. Sorry, no Vegoku from this author. ^_^* I just reiterate that this story is not yaoi for each chapter that contains some content that might be mistaken for such. I'd say it only once, but some people have short memories. ^_^* 

Anyway, please review. Reviews really do help me work through writer's block and help me get back my will to write. 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Getting Mom and Dad Together Again" by Frozenflower, story id 638781. Mirai Trunks' time machine has broken down right in the crucial time period where his parents are getting together - how can he repair it without arousing their suspicions? Convince them Goku's his Daddy! Like all of Frozenflower's works, this one is a worthwhile read. It's hilarious! ^_^ 


	59. Scars of the Past

Disclaimer: While cleaning out under my bed, I found some leftover Easter candy. Don't ask me which Easter it came from, or how long it's been there. And, yes, I fully intend to eat it. ^_^ Anyway, that's currently my only possession of any significant value. I don't own DBZ. If you try to sue me, I'm letting you know now that the only thing you might possibly get out of it is my bag of who-knows-how-old-it-is candy. And that's only if you sue me before I eat it all. *grins and pops a jelly bean in her mouth* 

A/N: Yeah, I'm quite aware that the chapter title is the same as the name of one of Frozenflower's fics. What can I say? The name just fit. ^_^ 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Scars of the Past) 

_But Vegeta didn't mean to hurt me! He said he was sorry, and I believe him!_ Out of the entire conversation Bardock had just had with his son, those two sentences stood out the most clearly in his mind. Walking slowly towards the room he felt Vegeta's ki coming from, the same room he had left the boy in, he couldn't help but feel surprised by Goku's reaction to the whole affair. From what he had gathered, Goku had asked, no, insisted on sparring with Vegeta, and when the two boys got into a standoff of ki against ki, his son had eventually been overpowered. This had resulted in the seven year old's burned and blind condition that he had been in when Vegeta brought him back to the house. But was Goku affected by any of this? Not at all. After being healed, he was almost instantly back to his normal, cheerful self, stating that he'd had fun and that he _wanted_ to spar with the young prince again. Not a drop of fear that something like that might happen again, not a single worry about whether his opponent had meant to hurt him like that or not. To the little Saiyan it had all been a normal accident, the kind of thing that could happen no matter who you were sparring with. One apology, and the whole thing was forgiven and well on its way to being forgotten. 

But Goku's reaction wasn't the only surprise that conversation had held. That one, simple apology that the chibi seemed to take for granted seemed so unlikely to Bardock that he would almost have thought Goku was making it up, if not for the fact that he didn't think his son was capable of lying. Especially not about something like this. But that left him with the startling conclusion that Vegeta really did apologize, and Bardock didn't know how he felt about that. On the one hand, he was glad that the prince hadn't meant to harm Goku, that this whole thing actually was an accident despite his initial conclusions. But on the other hand, it was hard to believe that Vegeta had somehow changed enough to get down off his high horse and apologize to a lowly third class child for anything, whether or not it was actually his fault. Only a few days ago, he had callously revealed the true nature of Grandpa Gohan's death, showing not the least bit of remorse for his actions, and now he was showing outright concern for Goku and _apologizing_. How had Vegeta changed that much, that quickly? 

_No, that's not quite true,_ he amended silently, his mind thinking back to that morning after he'd retrieved his wounded son and tended his wounds, when he had caught the ten year old prince standing next to the chibi's bed with an unidentifiable expression on his face. And later, when he'd returned from the shopping trip to find Vegeta asleep in the chair as though he'd fallen asleep watching over Goku. In hind sight, these two incidents seemed to indicate that there was at least a degree of remorse on Vegeta's part for the problems he'd caused. _But it just seems so unrealistic to say "Vegeta's changed! He's not a spoiled little prince anymore! He's changed his ways, so now everything will be fine and dandy!"_ Bardock snorted. _Yeah right. If only it was that simple._

With a sigh, the thirty three year old Saiyan realized that he had come to the open door leading to Goku's bedroom and that there was no more time for him to speculate and sort out his thoughts. Raising one hand to rub the bridge of his nose where he felt a headache developing, he cautiously stepped into the sunlit room, his eyes searching for the frustratingly unpredictable child who was the cause of this latest mess. He found Vegeta standing at the window, hands clasped behind his back as he stared out at something Bardock couldn't see. The sight of the ten year old Saiyan seemed to bring back all the anger that Bardock had felt the moment he'd laid eyes upon his son's twisted body hanging limp in the older boy's arms. Here stood the boy who had nearly killed his son, gazing casually out the window, while Goku sat in a bathtub, the water stained red with his blood. Goku was alive. But it could just as easily be otherwise. Unconsciously clenching and unclenching his fists, the warrior struggled to control his rising ire by telling himself over and over again that it had been an accident, that Vegeta _had_ apologized, and that he was not here to lose control of his emotions. 

Either sensing Bardock's ki or hearing the warrior's quiet footsteps as he entered the room, Vegeta allowed his arms to drop to his sides and he turned around to face the older Saiyan. His face was a carefully composed mask that allowed no emotion to show through, no clue as to what was going on behind those obsidian eyes. Besides lifting those eyes to meet Bardock's troubled gaze, the boy did nothing, waiting for the other Saiyan to make the first move. 

It took a considerable effort on his part, but Bardock managed to force himself to calm down, making his fists open up so they wouldn't betray his inner feelings. Taking a deep breath, he stated simply, "Goku told me what happened." 

Vegeta's eyes flickered with hidden emotion as he searched the warrior's face for a brief moment before nodding wordlessly. To Bardock's puzzlement, the young prince pulled the top half of his gi off and dropped it on the floor, then turned back to face the window, shoulders squared and head slightly bowed. 

"Vegeta, what are you doing?" he asked in confusion. 

The question seemed to surprise the ten year old, because when he turned his head so he could look back over his shoulder at Bardock, he had his eyebrows quirked questioningly. "Aren't you going to beat me now?" Vegeta asked bluntly, his voice as devoid of emotion as his face had been. 

Now it was Bardock's turn to be taken aback, and his own eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What?" 

"Whenever I conducted myself improperly, or failed in some task or mission," Vegeta explained matter-of-factly, "father took me into the private courtyard and would either beat me or whip me, depending on how serious the matter had been and how angry he was. I nearly killed your son, so..." Allowing the sentence to trail off, the little Saiyan turned away again, baring his back to whatever might come. "I am ready to receive my punishment, sir." 

Bardock stood where he was, rooted in place by the shock of Vegeta's words. He had heard that King Vegeta was a harsh ruler, but this... His eyes were drawn involuntarily to the boy's bare back, suddenly noticing perhaps hundreds of faint scars criss-crossing their way across his skin, some jagged and irregular, some straight and narrow. The wounds that had made the scars had obviously been in a regen tank relatively soon after being inflicted, as most of them were almost too faint to see unless you were looking for them, but one scar running from the child's right shoulder to his left hip stood out in stark relief, the pale flesh pulled taut between the boundaries of the scar. Almost an inch thick, it had to have hurt terribly when it had occurred, and then been left to heal on its own without the aid of a regen tank. _How did someone so young get so many battle scars?_ his numb mind wondered. Then the pieces fell into place, Vegeta's statement connecting with the scars he bore, and Bardock realized that they were _not_ battle scars. Not all of them, anyway. 

They were the scars of a boy beaten and whipped into submission. 

~*~ 

"Are we there yet?" Pilaf whined nasally from the back seat of the jet that he, Mai, and Shao were all flying in. Not waiting for them to answer, he impatiently scooted over to the edge of the chair where he could press his face against the glass window and stare down at the forest below. "Are you even sure where you're going?" he demanded impatiently. 

"Trust me, sire," Agent Mai replied smoothly from the pilot's seat, keeping her eyes forward and her attention on where they were going. "This is the area our radar said three dragonballs were all located together. In fact, it should only be another minute before we're at the estimated coordinates." 

Sulking childishly at the thought of having to wait even sixty seconds, the little blue emperor growled. "You had better be right, Agent Mai, or I'll try my new toy out on _you_ instead of whoever has my dragonballs!" 

Mai merely rolled her eyes at her employer and ignored him, having known him long enough to know when he was making threats for the sake of hearing himself speak and when he was actually threatening her. Of course, if she _was_ wrong, then she could expect to be punished severely, but the black haired woman was confident that the technology that had led her here hadn't failed her. 

"Sire, look!" Shao yipped excitedly, pointing towards a small white dot settled into a clearing in the middle of the forest. It was the only sign of human habitation for miles around, so it stood out clearly against the arboreal backdrop. "I bet that's what we're looking for, sire! Whoever gathered those three dragonballs probably lives in that house!" 

Petulance forgotten, Pilaf was at the window again in a flash, face pressed against the glass to get a better view of their destination. "Yes! YES! Nyahaha!! Soon I'll be that much closer to ruling the world! I should thank whatever fool lives in that house for gathering my dragonballs for me. Or maybe I'll torture him for daring to try to take my wish from me!" Giggling at the prospect of obtaining three more of the precious balls as well as being able to gloat his victory over a soon-to-be captive audience, the little gremlin lifted his hand imperiously and pointed at the distant capsule house. "Mai, take us to that capsule house! Shao, prepare the Thing!" 

"Huh? What thing?" the confused dog-man asked, turning his head to look at his boss. 

"The THING, you idiot!" Pilaf screeched, lashing out at his lackey with his small fist and bonking him upside the head. "The special Thing that'll help me take over the world! My weapon of terror and oppression! The Thing!!" To punctuate his statement, the midget emperor delivered a sharp kick to Shao's behind, ignoring the fact that he had to move closer so his short little leg could reach. 

Rubbing his bottom, the slow-witted underling nodded in comprehension. "Oh, yeah! The Thing! I remember now!" 

"I'm surrounded by morons!" the blue gremlin grumbled to himself, sitting back down in his seat. "Just ready the Thing, already! And you better not fail me like you did last time, or else..." Feeling that he was terrifying enough simply implying a threat, Emperor Pilaf allowed the sentence to trail off in what he thought was a menacing tone. 

"Yes, sire!" Complying with his ruler's wishes, Agent Shao pulled the capsule that contained the Thing from his pocket and depressed the button before tossing it into his lap, where it decapsulized with a puff of smoke. The smoke quickly dissipated, leaving behind a high tech looking tube that was as long as Pilaf was tall, and about six inches in diameter. Odd looking rods and switches poked out up and down the length of the silvery contraption, along with two handles attached perpendicular to the tube casing and parallel to each other. There was also an inch thick manual that appeared with the Thing, but Shao ignored it. Everyone knows that manuals are completely useless as anything other than fuel for a campfire. Instead, he started flipping switches and turning dials, tapping on a little keypad set into the side of the tube, until at last he sat back with a look of smug satisfaction on his furry face. Opening a portal in the side of the jet, he shoved half of the tube outside and, holding onto the handles with both paws, he peered through the weapon's sighting mechanism, making a few last-minute adjustments as he did so. Finally, he looked up at the short blue emperor and happily announced, "The Thing is ready, your majesty!" 

"Excellent!" Pilaf cackled, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "If this works, I may even forgive the both of you for botching things when I sent you after that dragonball." Tugging his hat into a more 'imperious' position, the childish emperor stood up in his seat to give him a bit of added height and authority. "Agent Shao, as soon as we are within range, you are to fire the Thing at that house!" he commanded. "Agent Mai, you will tell Agent Shao when we are close enough to launch our assault!" 

"Yes, sire!" the two agents answered in unison. 

After a few more seconds of flying, the capsule house growing steadily larger, the black haired woman in the pilot's seat spoke up. "Agent Shao, we will be entering firing range in ten seconds. Nine... eight... seven..." Mai continued to count down as her partner focused the targeting system of the Thing on the capsule house below. "Five... four... three..." 

"Yes! YES!! Nyahahaha!!! Soon, I shall be ruler of the world! No one will be able to stop me! Not even that monkey boy and his friends!" Pilaf was now dancing around in a place, trying not to fall of his chair, then suddenly dashed back to the window to see the fateful moment. 

"Two... one..." 

~*~ 

Bardock continued to stare at Vegeta's back, his lips tightening with dawning revulsion as the child continued to wait for a blow to fall. Again, his eyes were drawn to the one scar that stood out in stark relief, and he suddenly found that his hand had unconsciously reached out to touch it. It did not slip past his notice that every muscle in the young prince's back tensed up upon contact, but other than that Vegeta made no move. 

"Is that how you got this?" Bardock asked quietly, not betraying the inner turmoil he was in. He had come here to ask the boy for his side of the story, and to ask a question or two in regards to the incident, then decide from there what he would do about the whole matter. He had _not _expected to confront the harsh realities of Vegeta's upbringing, had not even known of the existence of this dark history. The anger that had been rekindled in his heart upon seeing the boy was quickly crumbling under this new discovery, replaced instead by a pang of sympathy. No Saiyan's childhood was easy or pain-free, with physical punishment being the preferred means of discipline, but from the evidence of his eyes and Vegeta's behavior, it sounded like the prince had had it harder than most. 

"I... insulted the king in front of one of Frieza's lackeys," Vegeta replied stiffly, obviously not wanting to talk about it. "We were on a ship with malfunctioning regen tanks." As though that was explanation enough, the ten year old shut his mouth and left it at that. Not that Vegeta needed to elaborate; Bardock could well imagine the rest of the story. 

Allowing his hand to drop away, the older warrior hesitated for a moment, uncertain as to how he should respond. Lifting the hand again, fully intending to place it on Vegeta's shoulder, he started to say, "Vegeta, I..." 

But neither action was completed as the air suddenly filled with buzzing energy, lifting the hairs off the back of Bardock's neck and filling his ears with a reverberating hum. In less than a second, the electricity in the air had increased to an almost painful intensity, and the hum was now an incessant whine. And then everything went black. 

~*~ 

The story was just getting too serious for my liking, which was really making it hard for me to enjoy writing it (thus making me take longer writing each chapter). I spent this week rediscovering my love of writing, and while doing so, I made some drastic changes to the whole plot outline I had planned. I think it'll all be for the better, though. *grins* 

Even though I've "rediscovered my love of writing," I'm not promising to post chapters any faster. I've been neglecting my two other fics so that I could get this story back on track, so I may very well sit down and write another chapter of Chibi Vegeta or Wild Occurrences (any opinions on which one I update next?). 

Please review! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"The World of the Queen" by Bunny Rabbit, story id 771463. This is the story of Laurel (Vegeta's mother), Senna (Goku's mother), Bardock, and King Vegeta (when he was a Prince). How did Laurel become Queen of Vegeta-sei, and what adventures await her on her path through life? My summary really doesn't do this story justice. The author is a terrific writer, with wonderfully long chapters and a very intriguing story, well developed, believable characters, and a splash of very enjoyable humor. I definitely recommend this fic! 


	60. Cookies and Potties

*walks onto the stage holding a sheaf of papers with the next chapter of WFTP on them* Hey all! Ready for another update? *sweatdrops as she watches the audience die of shock* Er... I guess it's been a long time since I updated... *grins sheepishly* Umm... well, I guess all I can say is gomen nasai! 

*clears her throat* Before I let you all get on with the story, there are some matters that need addressing. First off, for those of you who left rude reviews concerning my tardiness, why don't YOU try to write a story and maintain a steady stream of updates for months on end (I've been posting in this story since March 24th). Make sure you write 2000-4000 words per chapter. Oh, and try to have a life at the same time, too. THEN come back to me and complain when I don't update as often as you'd like. I also note that most of you who complained did so anonymously and left no e-mail address. Afraid that I might want to defend myself? Funny how most bullies are also cowards. My life has been rather hectic lately, with lots of family coming to visit and requiring me as a baby-sitter, writer's block, depression, _and_ hours spent job hunting. I don't have as much time as I used to for writing stories. On top of that, I am currently juggling not one, but _three_ stories. 

I am not obligated to write. This is not my job, it's my hobby. I don't get paid to do this. I have no deadlines besides the ones I set for myself. Yelling at me and rudely demanding me to do something that I don't have to do in the first place isn't likely to get me to write any faster. 

Don't get me wrong, I really _don't_ mind people asking me to update - even people wanting me to update quickly - as I view this as another form of showing appreciation for the story. However, ranting at me for being slow to update isn't appreciation, it's immaturity. 

On another note, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed and supported me in writing this story. I'm so pleased to be able to say that you people outnumber the inconsiderate jerks who flame me for being slow, and that most of my reviewers fall under the first category instead of the second. You're the people who keep me going, even when my Chronic Depression resurfaces, and I just want you all to know how much I appreciate your encouragement. Knowing that you enjoy the story and want me to continue writing, even if I'm slow in updating, has really helped me be able to write as much as I have, and will no doubt help me continue this story to its eventual conclusion. Thank you all for your patience and support. 

I love you all! *huggles her reviewers* 

Disclaimer: *grabs a glass of water and starts gulping gratefully, too busy drinking to say anything* 

Bardock: *sweatdrops* Brenda can't say the disclaimer because she rambled so long just now that her mouth dried out. Good thing, too. If she tried to do the disclaimer now, we'd probably all be stuck here forever! All in favor of shutting Brenda up so we can get on with this story? 

*hands shoot into the air like weeds after a spring rain in Texas* 

Bardock: Any opposed? 

*crickets chirp* 

Bardock: *smirks* Thought so. *calmly gags Brenda before she can start speaking again* For any lawyers who might be out there, Brenda doesn't own DBZ. 

Brenda: *glares at Bardock* 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Cookies and Potties) 

_A short time ago..._

Knowing exactly how much his father would have to cook in order to feed six hungry Saiyans, Radditz figured that he had plenty of time to get home before lunch would be ready. Since he was in no hurry, the wild maned teenager dropped out of the sky and landed in the forest, deciding to walk the rest of the way instead of flying. After all, he was on a brand new world, surrounded by foreign flora and fauna, and he couldn't deny a small itch of curiosity, the desire to look around and take in the details of this strange planet. 

As he ambled through the lush forest growth, eyes drinking in ever aspect of the plants and animals he happened to see, his sensitive Saiyan nose caught the scent of water in the air, making him realize just how thirsty he was. The training session with Goku, while not exactly taxing on his strength, had still been enough to dehydrate his body somewhat. Radditz angled the invisible path he walked in the direction where he smelled the water and soon found himself by a lake with crystal clear water, sparkling merrily in the near-noon sunlight. 

Kneeling at the edge of the lake, he cupped his hands and scooped up some water, slaking his thirst with several handfuls of the cold liquid. That done, he was about to stand up and continue on his way, when movement in the water caught his eye. There, swimming lazily through the blue green depths of the lake, was a fish that was at least as tall as Radditz was, and almost as big around. The sight of the creature brought back pleasant memories of the fish breakfast he'd had just that morning, and a grumbling in his stomach told him just how long ago that had been. 

"I could use a small snack," he murmured to himself, eyeing the fish hungrily. "After all, lunch probably won't be ready just yet, and father won't let me eat until everyone gets home... including that damn female!" Thinking back to the ill fated shopping trip he had participated in, Radditz couldn't help but wonder if Bulma would make it home in time for dinner, let alone lunch! Who knew how long he'd have to wait before she either showed up or Bardock gave in and let them eat with out her? "I think I'll just catch a fish or two to tide me over until it's time to eat." 

Having made his choice, the fifteen year old boy stripped off his clothes and dove into the water, grinning predatorily as he began to stalk the silver scaled denizens of the lake. His mind completely on the enjoyable task at hand, he never even noticed when three kis suddenly dropped, until each was about the level one would expect if the owner had fallen asleep. If they had disappeared completely, Radditz might have noticed, but as it was, the only thing that had his attention was the flash of quicksilver flickering at the edge of his sight. 

~*~ 

In the aftermath of the assault, silence reigned for all of two seconds before Pilaf whooped loudly and did a little victory dance. "Nyahahaha!! I wo-on! I won I won I wo-on!! Those imbeciles never had a chance! I am the great Emperor Pilaf and soon the whole world will bow before m-ooooff!!" His celebration was abruptly cut short as the blue midget tripped on the hem of his robe and fell flat on his face. Scrambling to his feet, he glared at his two companions as though daring either of them to laugh or make a comment on the incident, then straightened his cap before sitting back in his chair. "Agent Mai, you will be more careful when flying this plane!" he ordered snootily. "It was your bad flying that made me fall! Do it again and I'll throw you in a pool of piranhas!" 

"Yes, sire," Mai replied with an inaudible snort. She knew very well that it wasn't her piloting that had caused Pilaf's embarrassing accident, but chose not to say anything. Years of service to the childish gremlin had gotten her well used to his antics and so she merely humored him and went on with the task of setting the air craft down in the clearing next to the capsule house. 

As soon as the plane had settled into the grassy clearing, Pilaf popped the hatch open and bounded out of the ship, eagerly looking forward to claiming three more dragonballs. That would put them at a total of four of the wish granting spheres, with only three left and apparently no other competition for them. Whoever was in this house seemed to have been the only other people out there collecting the orange balls, so with them out of the picture, it would be child's play to gather the last three balls and make his wish! 

"Mai, Shao, you two will come with me and look for the dragonballs," he commanded, immediately making his way for the door to the house. "If we find anyone inside, we will take them prisoner. I want to know how they found the three that they have, and then they will be punished for trying to take _my_ wish from me!" Cackling with glee, he barely waited for his two underlings to catch up to him before waltzing into the house, completely confident that no threat resided therein after what the Thing had done to it and the surrounding area. 

With his two agents trailing behind him, the pointy eared gremlin entered the cozy living room and examining the place disdainfully, looking to see if the dragonballs were immediately visible. When this cursory search failed to bring the desired results, he wheeled around and glared at his two stooges. "Those dragonballs could be anywhere! I want you both to search this house from top to bottom and find me those dragonballs!" Thinking he perceived hesitation from the woman and dog-man, Pilaf screeched, "NOW!!!" 

Nearly jumping out of their skins, Mai and Shao saluted their emperor and uttered a hasty "yes, sire!" before attacking the room with frantic fervor, tearing the place apart in their efforts to locate the coveted magical balls. Pulling off couch cushions, upending drawers, peering into jars, and in general looking anywhere that the dragonballs might possibly be hidden, it wasn't long before the two henchmen - well, henchman and henchwoman - had turned the living room into a disaster area, and they _still_ weren't done! Pilaf seated himself on one of the discarded couch cushions, which, coincidentally, was just the right height off the floor to make the perfect chair for his stunted body, and watched the chaos with a look of boredom on his face and his finger up his nose. 

After only a few minutes of this, the vertically challenged emperor grumbled impatiently and hopped off his make-shift chair, wiping the snot excavated from his nose on the top of the cushion before ambling casually out of the room. He had no fear of stumbling across any of the house's inhabitants. The Thing that had been used on the capsule house generated a pulse of electricity that was designed to short circuit the target's electronic equipment, but also had the added bonus of completely overloading the nervous system of any living creature within the blast radius, thus effectively knocking them unconscious for several hours. Or at least that was what the catalogue, Terrorists 'R' Us, had said, which was where Pilaf ordered all his tools of terror and mass destruction from. 

The first door he opened was a disappointment, containing only coats and gloves that didn't appear to have been used in months. Pilaf closed the door with a grumble, deciding to let Mai and Shao examine the contents more closely later in their search for the dragonballs. That was what he'd hired them for, after all, beyond simply to have someone to boss around. The next door, situated right next to the closet, was similarly a waste of his precious time, as it contained all the heating, cooling, and air circulation equipment that ran the capsule house. In fact, unless the owners of this house had somehow managed to cram the dragonballs inside the machinery, there wasn't any place to hide one dragonball, let alone three. Mai and Shao would probably search the rest of the house first, and only check inside the machines as a last resort if they didn't find the dragonballs elsewhere. 

Across the hall from the two closets was another door that, once Pilaf opened it, revealed an empty bedroom with clothing strewn all over the floor and furniture, rumpled bed sheets hanging half off the mattress. In short, it looked like a typical teenager's bedroom. Pilaf wrinkled his nose in disgust and closed the door. He had no interest in risking his life entering _that_ disaster zone! 

The next two rooms, one on either side of the hall, were also bedrooms, although they weren't in nearly so bad a condition as the first one was. Neither had any clues to what their inhabitants were like, other than the fact that both were apparently much neater than the first room's occupant. Seeing nothing of immediate interest in either room, Pilaf continued on down the hall to the next pair of opposing doors. 

Immediately upon approaching the two doors, the self proclaimed emperor knew that one of them was different. Wisps of steam floated into the air, leaking from the cracks of the door on the right, making the air feel stickier and heavier, and there was a tiny trickle of water coming from under the door, glistening in the light that filtered through the skylight located directly above him. The door itself was slightly ajar, as though someone had carelessly closed it without making sure that the latch had caught, and now it had slid back open a fraction of an inch. The room beyond was dark, the circuitry that powered the lights having been fried by the Thing, and since there were apparently no windows in the room, Pilaf was unable to see anything inside. From the steam and the trickle of water, though, he guessed that the room must be a bathroom. 

"Perfect," Pilaf muttered to himself, a relieved smirk dancing its way across his lips. "I could really use a potty break right about now!" Figuring that if he left the door open there would be enough light to use the bathroom's facilities, and since Mai and Shao would be busy searching the living room and so wouldn't walk in on him, the blue midget pushed the door wide open, intending to scurry in and use the toilet straight away. 

The light from the skylight above illuminated the first few feet into the bathroom and cast a faint ambiance on the rest of the room, allowing Pilaf to see where everything was placed. There was the tub - a rather large tub, at that - still full of water as though someone had been about to take a bath, or had just taken one and forgotten to drain the water away - obviously the source of the steam that Pilaf had noted earlier. And there, on the other side of the room, was the emperor's goal: the john, the loo, the porcelain throne - the _toilet_! With a triumphant cackle of glee and relief, the would-be ruler of the world darted into the darkened bathroom... 

... and tripped over the unconscious form of Son Goku, who had been lying in the shadows, unnoticed by Pilaf's cursory glance. Screaming in alarm as he sailed through the air, the pint sized villain's eyes widened in horror when he realized just where he was heading. With a resounding _splash_, the unfortunate midget landed head first in the miniature lagoon contained in the porcelain bowl of the toilet. Poor Pilaf, his head was just the right size and shape to nestle itself firmly into the curves of the pristine plumbing, and it was to his utter dismay that, when he tried to lift his head free of the watery confines, he found that he was well and truly stuck. 

~*~ 

After Pilaf had left the room to go exploring, Mai and Shao had managed to search every likely - and unlikely - place in the living room for the dragonballs and had since moved on to the kitchen. Their eyes had immediately latched upon a highly suspicious looking container and, after glancing briefly at each other, the two had snatched the jar off of the shelf it had been resting on. Without a second thought, they immediately pulled the lid off and began to "search for the dragonballs" that could very well have been hidden inside the earthenware cookie jar. Oh, those dragonballs were tricky things! They could even be hiding inside those delicious little chocolate chip cookies! Therefore, it was up to Mai and Shao to "search" each and every cookie in that jar. It was a big job to do, considering there were just so many cookies, but it was their job to check any and all possible hiding spots in the house for the dragonballs their master desired. So far they hadn't discovered any dragonballs, but the cookies more than made up for the disappointment! 

The two lackeys had made it through about half of the cookies when Pilaf's shrill cry of alarm filtered into their ears, alerting them to their emperor's predicament. The raven haired woman and fluffy tailed dog-man seriously contemplated ignoring Pilaf's scream and finish "searching" the cookie jar, but then they both recalled what would happen to them if they were late in aiding their employer. With twin sighs of regret, they stashed their loot in a cabinet and covered it with a dish rag - to prevent anyone from possibly finding it and stealing the dragonballs that might be hidden at the bottom, they justified themselves - then hurried off to help the hapless half-pint. 

Not knowing which room Pilaf had encountered misfortune in, Mai and Shao took the time to glance briefly in each room they passed as they traversed the hallway until at last they found the bathroom. Peering through the open door, the first thing that Mai noted was the unmoving body of a black haired child laying face down in a puddle of water, a damp towel draped over part of his head as though the boy had been in the middle of drying his hair when he had been knocked unconscious. The boy was clad only in a pair of loose black pants and nothing else, though Mai could see what appeared to be a green shirt hanging on the towel rack, probably placed there while the kid dried his hair with the towel that had hung in the shirt's place. 

A distinctive gurgle, followed by a "glub glub" drew Mai's attention away from studying the unconscious boy and towards the source of the sound, and that was when she finally caught sight of Emperor Pilaf and the rather... er... unfortunate position he was stuck in. The black haired woman gawked incredulously as the midget's chubby blue legs and lower torso - the only parts of him that could be seen - waved frantically in the air... as they emerged from within the toilet. 

"Is that..." Shao lifted a paw and pointed it in the toilet's direction, his own mouth slightly agape. 

The black-haired woman's eyes widened in a similar manner as she caught sight of her emperor brought so low, for there was Pilaf, the undersized gremlin who wanted to rule the world, face down in a toilet, legs flailing in a manner most un-becoming an emperor. "Oh no! Emperor Pilaf!" she cried out like the dedicated underling she was, rushing forward to grab hold one the emperor's plump little legs as Shao followed her lead and likewise took hold of the other leg. 

"Hold on, sire, we'll get you out of there," Shao consoled his ruler, looking to Mai for the signal to start pulling. Another gurgle emerged from the toilet bowl even as human female tightened her grip and nodded to her canine companion. 

"On three," she ordered firmly. "One... two... THREE!" 

Grunting in unison, the two agents tugged on Pilaf's legs, hauling back like two mules trying to uproot a tree stump. A distressed burbling erupted from the toilet, followed by the sound of sloshing water and a _shluuuck-pop!_ as Pilaf popped out of the potty, a trail of sparkling droplets streaming behind him. Down the trio went in a tumble of arms and legs, the unfortunate emperor dripping toilet water all over his rescuers. 

"You bumbling idiots!!" Pilaf screeched furiously as he roughly extricated himself from the tangle of human, dog-man, and gremlin. A vein on his forehead throbbed in time with his angrily beating heart and he glared daggers at Mai and Shao. "I could have _died_ waiting for you two buffoons to rescue me! And what's the big idea of yanking on my legs?! _You nearly ripped them out of their sockets!!_ What are you trying to do, kill m-AAAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!" Shrieking in pure terror, the stunted imp darted behind Mai's legs like a frightened child, staring with wide eyes at the lump on the floor that had caused his fall in the first place. 

A lump that was shaped like a little human boy wearing black pants and a towel draped over his unruly black hair. 

A little boy with a fuzzy brown tail attached to his backside, visible now that his eyes had adjusted to the dim light in the bathroom. 

"IT'S THAT MONKEY-BOY WHO WRECKED MY CASTLE!!!" 

~*~ 

Whew! This chapter was hard to write. The shifting between comedic action/dialogue and serious description caused for some difficult transitions, which is part of the reason this chapter was late in coming out. Oh, and if there are any discrepancies in my alibi for Radditz (some characters in earlier chapters said he was sleeping, or checking up on lunch, or whatever) just chalk it up to the confusion generated by the recent trauma. I may eventually go back and edit those chapters so the story all fits, but I'm too lazy to do that right now. *grins* 

On an unrelated note.... Are you tired of sitting there, wondering what the heck I'm doing? Wondering which story I plan to update next? How far along I've gotten in the chapter I'm writing? And so forth? Well, I have now added a section to my profile, down at the bottom, that I update fairly frequently, which should help answer those questions. I hope this helps ease the minds of frustrated readers who are left wondering about what the heck I'm doing. ^_^ 

*stretches her fingers* Okay, I don't really have much to say about this chapter, so I'll just get on to the advertising! ^_^ 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Bardock Returns" by Sakura*Mota, story id 875478. Set after the Buu Saga, Bardock gets wished back to life by an unknown person, so he gets to meet his family on Earth. The author is a terrific writer and makes everything seem so plausible that you can actually see this happening in the series. Go read it! 

"Set in Stone" by E-chan, story id 932000. After gathering the dragonballs as a way to pass the time, Goku allows Goten to make a wish. When Goten miswords the wish, he and his father end up in the past on Vegeta-sei, where they meet Bardock and get to know him. Despite having a similar premise, this story is NOT like Wish For The Past and is an _excellent_ read! 

"Silver Lining" by Burenda, story id 923066. (Shameless self advertising!) A somewhat poetic one-shot that delves into the mental aspects involved in depression and/or lack of will/motivation that is often behind my bouts of writer's block (among other things). Meant to be generally applied to life, so don't take anything too personally in it. ^_^ 


	61. Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf

Hey there, sorry I'm late (again)! I have plenty of excuses I could list off, but I'm only going to name a few. First off, writing isn't the only thing I do. I am also an artist, and sometimes I take a couple days off to just draw. I took a week off to do an illustration for Chibi Vegeta. Along the same lines, I've been commissioned to do a piece of art for the school I'm going to as payment for the class I'm taking there, and commissioned art comes before hobby writing. Last but not least, writer's block! I had it pretty badly during several places in this chapter, sometimes for days on end! Add all these delays up and you get *wince* almost a month since I last posted something, and more than a month since I posted a chapter of WFTP. Gomen! 

Unfortunately, now that I'm back in school and doing things with my life again (*gasp* She has a life!) posting will continue to be slow, since I'm not willing to sacrifice quality for speed. However, as reward for your patience and understanding (and for a distinct LACK of flames for being slow! ^_^) I give you an _extra looooong _chapter! 

Congratulations to Shella for being the 1700th reviewer! I give you.... *pulls out Magic Bag O' Rewards (TM)* *reaches in and grabs something* tickets to any movie you like with any one bishounen you want! ^_^ (I forgot to do the 1600th reviewer when I hit 1600... and I'm too lazy to manually count my way back 100 reviews to find out who it was. Whoever the 1600th reviewer was, I'm sorry!) 

Special thanks go to my sister Melanie, Beaner Bop, and Frozenflower for their help with this and past chapters. You know what you did, even if I can't exactly remember what you did, but I appreciate it greatly. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: I own a couple of acorns and some oak leaves that I had to use as models for my piece of commissioned art. Other than that, I own nothing. -_-; That includes DBZ! *sniffles* Waah!! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf) 

_Bardock pulled the scouter away from his face, folded it, and tucked it into a pocket, then turned to face the two boys from the future. Kneeling down in front of them, he pulled Goten and Trunks into a tight hug, knowing that this was the last time he would see either of them, unless they met in the after life, or if he happened to live long enough in this timeline to see them born here. But that would not happen for many years, and they would not be the same as the two chibis he now held in his arms. Circumstances and people in this timeline would not be the same as with the other timeline, and so would breed different people, even if they looked the same. Unless time travel was used, he would never see these two again, something that made him profoundly sad._

_Whispering something to the two boys that, for some reason, he couldn't hear, he released them and stood up, waiting patiently as Goten and Trunks spoke wordlessly to Goku, Vegeta, Radditz, and Bulma, in some cases exchanging hugs, then walked over to stand in front of the seven glowing dragonballs that lay on the ground. Bardock watched in awe as, responding to the unheard words that emerged from Trunks's mouth, an enormous, serpentine figure emerged and spoke to them. Trunks spoke again and the dragon replied, its red eyes glowing brightly for a moment._

_Realizing that the moment of parting was at hand, Bardock called out one last thing even as his grandson and the child's best friend disappeared in a flash of light. Then the dragon was gone, too, the seven balls shooting out into the heavens to lay scattered and dormant upon the earth for another year._

_The scene shifted, the beautiful scenery being replaced by scorched rubble, blasted trees, and blood. Radditz's blood. And Radditz's body. But that was not what held Bardock's attention. What held his attention was worse, far worse, than the broken and torn remains of his eldest son, as gruesome as his death had been. As terrible as it had been, it was over now and had been replaced by the brutal torture of his youngest son. Goku's screams, inexplicably inaudible despite Bardock's proximity to the boy, still managed to rend the air and echo in his ears and heart. He struggled to reach his son, to do something, anything to protect him from his attacker..._

_But he could not. Something he could not see restrained Bardock and held him in his place as surely as if he had been embedded in stone. All he could do was watch in helpless horror as the young boy's life was torn from his small body, tears of grief and anger sliding down his face uninhibited. In only a few minutes - a few minutes that seemed to last a lifetime - Goku lay on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, unmoving and indisputably dead._

_Dead._

_Both of his sons... were dead._

A very audible groan grated out from Bardock's parched throat, his mind battling for consciousness and slowly winning. His head pounded with the aftereffects of... whatever it was that had knocked him out in the first place and he shook his head in an effort to clear it. Cracking his eyes open, he blinked a few times in order to get his eyes to focus on his surroundings, which was when he realized that he was no longer inside the capsule house, nor anywhere else he recognized for that matter. One last blink, and the details of the room finally came into focus... 

...and then promptly disappeared. 

_Bardock pulled the scouter away from his face, folded it, and tucked it into a pocket, then turned to face his youngest son. Kneeling down in front of him, he pulled Goku into a fierce hug, knowing that this was the last time he would see him, not unless time travel was used. Yes, he might meet another form of his son, but he would not be the same person as the child he now held in his arms. Grief tugged at his heart, and the silent words he spoke to his son were choked with emotion, emotion that only became greater when the seven year old Saiyan hugged him back and responded with words of his own. It was perhaps one of the hardest things Bardock had ever done to release the son he had known for only a short time, the son he would not have the opportunity to know better. But it was time to let go and say good-bye._

_The dragon was summoned, its great scaly body filling the blackened sky, rumbling words that could not be heard. Tears were in Bardock's eyes, even as he stoically lifted his head and spoke the words that made the world swirl around him, solidifying into a world that was recognizably Earth, and yet was not the same place he had just been. Taking a shuddering breath, he looked to the place where he had just seen his son, and found no one. The wish had come true, and now he had abandoned Goku for the second time in his life._

_Shift._

_A young man with familiar, spiky black hair, dressed in a white tuxedo stood with a black haired young woman in a lacy white dress, and many people crowded around them. The man, barely an adult, wore a puzzled but vaguely happy look on his face, while the woman was positively beaming, hanging from the man's arm as she responded to the well wishes of the people around them._

_Despite the odd clothing and the unfamiliar faces of the crowd, Bardock recognized the young man to be his son, no longer a child, though he had no idea who the woman might be. Bardock studied Goku intently, ignoring the crowd that seemed to be able to pass through him as though he was a ghost. Beyond letting him know that this was a vision, and that he was not physically present in the event that was unfolding before him, they were unimportant. The only thing that mattered right now was his son._

_As quickly as the vision had begun, everything faded away, shifting and changing to display a new scene. Goku and the woman were still present, though dressed in less formal clothing, but everyone else was gone - everyone else, that is, except for the small baby that Goku held in his arms. The baby reached up to pull a small cap with an orange ball sewn on it off his head, revealing a mess of spiky black hair, and Bardock could see that the child had a fuzzy tail peeping out from the clothing he had been bundled into. Was this Goku's son? From the way the man smiled at the child, and how the woman looked at the two, Bardock guessed that he must be their child._

_Bardock watched as the happy family - he guessed the woman must be Goku's mate - talked and played with the baby, sitting out on the lawn in front of a small domed building settled in the middle of a vast mountain forest. Goten had mentioned that he had an older brother - Go-something, Bardock couldn't remember - and since there wasn't any sign of another child anywhere, Bardock guessed that the baby in Goku's arms must be Goten's brother. Goten had failed to mention just how much older than him his brother was, so Bardock had no idea how long it would be before Goten joined this family._

_Curious about this grandson of his, Bardock stepped forward and peered down at him. He was perhaps a few months old, and yet his large black eyes showed intelligence and curiosity as he chewed on the brim of his hat. Those same eyes blinked and turned in Bardock's direction, and the baby laughed suddenly, silently. One hand freed itself from the cap he was clutching and extended in Bardock's direction, as though the boy were trying to touch the man he saw. With startled realization, the thought suddenly crossed his mind that this baby could _see_ him! But how?! This was a vision, so how could Bardock be seen when he wasn't actually present?_

_The baby continued to wave his arm in Bardock's direction, and the Saiyan turned around to see what was behind him. A mixture of relief and disappointment filled him when he saw a couple of squirrels scampering up and down a nut tree of some kind. Testing his theory, he stepped aside and watched his grandson's reaction, to see whether it was the frolicking Earth animals or Bardock himself that was attracting the child's attention._

_The baby's gaze remained steady, his toothless smile not wavering, and continued to follow the squirrels' movements. Smiling ruefully, Bardock shook his head at his incorrect assumptions. No, the child had only been responding to the fuzzy tailed creatures, not his grandfather. He returned to his scrutiny of the small family, feeling a vague twinge of envy at how close they were. He wondered what it would have been like if his family had been like this, loving and affectionate... and not afraid to show it to each other._

_With a sigh, Bardock shook his head and dismissed the idle speculation. There was no use wishing for things that could not be changed, and would in fact only lead him to become unhappy with the way things used to be. All he could do was try to learn from his mistakes and hope that he didn't repeat them in the future._

_The world, including Goku and his family, faded into a bright white light, and the vision ended._

~*~ 

Setting the air car not-quite-gently down in front of the capsule house, Bulma was not immediately aware that anything was wrong, other than the odd stillness and silence that seemed to pervade the area. Being the city girl that she was, this did not immediately register in her conscious brain, but she still felt a vague, unidentifiable sense of unease as she stepped out of the car. She checked to make sure that she had all of the capsules of food that she'd just bought, then turned and leaned over the edge of the car, intent on waking the two boys sleeping in the back seats. Much to her surprise, Goten was already awake and sitting up, clutching a teddy bear she hadn't seen before tightly to his chest. Tears glistened on his cheeks and he sniffled softly in an effort to prevent a visibly runny nose, resting his chin on the bear's head with his eyes closed. 

"Goten?" asked Bulma, puzzled and concerned at the same time. "Goten, what's wrong?" 

Sniffling noisily, Goten ran the back of his hand across his eyes to wipe away the tears and looked up at the blue haired girl with eyes that were wide and still shining with unshed tears. "I had a bad dream," he whimpered, squeezing the bear a little more tightly. "Uncle Radditz died and someone was hurting Goku, and... and..." He sobbed once, his small body shaking with barely suppressed emotion. "And then he _killed_ Goku!" Rubbing his nose against his sleeve, Goten made a visible effort to calm down before going on. "There was more, but it wasn't sad stuff. I saw my daddy - my grown up daddy, not Goku - and mommy wearing funny clothes, and then he and mommy were holding a baby. And there was some parts with grandpa, too, and one was sad 'cause I had to say good-bye to him, but it wasn't... it wasn't as bad as that other one." 

"Hey, don't cry. It was only a dream, Goten. It wasn't real," Bulma comforted him, opening the car door so she could sit down next to him and give him a quick hug. "You know what? Your grandpa probably has lunch all ready by now! I bet having a full stomach would make you feel better, right? And..." Grinning, the young genius got back out of the car and patted her pocket where she had a case of capsules. "I just went shopping, remember, so it won't _just_ be fish this time! Come on, wake Trunks up and let's go have some lunch!" 

The reassuring words and the mention of food were enough to bring a smile to Goten's face, and he laughed a little as he raised a hand to wipe away the last traces of his tears. "H-hai, Bulma-san," he said. "Thank you." Feeling a lot better about the whole thing, the little boy leaned over and began to shake his best friend awake. "Trunks! Hey, Trunks! Wake up! We're home, and we get to eat lunch now!" 

"Huh? Wha...?" yawned a groggy purple haired demi Saiyan, who rubbed his eyes as he sat up and blinked sleepily at the younger boy. "We're home?" 

"Yup! And Bulma says my grandpa's probably done making lunch, an' she said we get to eat some of the stuff she bought, too! Come on, Trunks!!" Grabbing hold of the other boy's arm, Goten started physically dragging Trunks out of the car and toward to capsule house, all thoughts of bad dreams banished by the promise of a good meal. 

"Okay, okay, I'm awake! You don't have to drag me there, you know," Trunks grumbled as he pulled his arm free of the other boy's grip, stifling another yawn. In reality, he was just as eager as Goten to go inside and eat, but he felt that is was his personal duty as the son of Vegeta not to act too enthusiastic about something as ordinary as lunch. Nonetheless, there was a noticeable quickening of his pace as he, Goten, and Bulma approached the door to the capsule house, none of them even noticing the motionless forms of several small animals - birds, squirrels, mice, etc. - lying scattered around the clearing where they had been knocked unconscious by the Thing. No, until they actually opened the door, none of them had any inkling that something was wrong. 

And then it was all _too_ obvious. 

~*~ 

Once again, the details of the unfamiliar room slowly blurred in and out of focus until, at last, Bardock's vision was clear and he was able to get a good look at his surroundings. Still feeling like his head was swimming, the Saiyan sat up and shook his head in an effort to clear it, with partial success, then got down to the business of figuring out just where in the world he was. The floor and ceiling were tiled in smooth, rectangular gray plates, and the walls were a darker shade of gray brick that did nothing to alleviate the overall drab and depressing atmosphere. Across the room from where Bardock was leaning against the wall was a heavy metal door with a small window holding thick iron bars - a door that instantly raised red flags of alarm in the warrior's mind and jolted him back to full awareness. Doors like that belonged in only one place. 

A prison. 

Bardock narrowed his eyes and began to scrutinize the room - prison cell, he amended - in earnest, only just now noticing that he wasn't alone. Laying on the floor on either side of him were Goku and Vegeta, both unconscious, although Vegeta was showing signs of stirring and Goku was whimpering discontentedly in his sleep. Both boys' hands were shackled with long chains that trailed down from about half way up the wall where they were firmly embedded in the brick, giving them enough leeway to move around a bit and lay on the floor, but not enough that any one person would be able to reach the other, or the door. Glancing down at his own hands, Bardock realized that he, too was shackled to the wall, the chains thick, heavy and formidable looking. He fingered one of the chains and was about to test its strength when the door suddenly banged opened with a loud _clang!_ and in waltzed a pointy eared blue imp, a black haired human woman wearing red paint around her eyes, and a particularly dumb looking dog-like being, the latter two following behind the former as though the midget were their leader. 

A faint scowl creased the Saiyan's brow as he took in the people he assumed were his captors, but beyond sitting up a little straighter he didn't immediately make a move. Just because they _looked_ like imbeciles didn't mean he should underestimate them, and a good fighter never acted without first learning all he could about his opponents. Besides which, these three had somehow managed to knock him, his son, and Prince Vegeta unconscious without being detected, and that alone was enough to warrant caution. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that both Goku and Vegeta were awake, probably woken by their captors' loud entry, but Bardock didn't actually look at either of them. Only a fool took his eyes off his enemy, and Bardock was no fool. 

"I see you three are finally awake," the little gremlin sneered, strutting back and forth in front of his prisoners. "Did you have a nice sleep? Yes, I suppose you did. The Thing has that kind of effect on people, you know." Smirking broadly, he snickered and stopped pacing when he returned to the center of the room, facing the captive trio once again. Puffing his chest up self-importantly, he announced, "As you probably know, I am the great Emperor Pilaf, and-" 

"Who?" Vegeta interrupted rudely, matching Pilaf's smirk with one of his own. It was clear that the boy had spoken for the sole purpose of annoying the midget. With arms folded confidently across his chest, he eyed Pilaf and his two lackeys in a manner that gave the impression that he was the one in charge, not the one in chains. 

Glancing briefly at the ten year old, Bardock experienced a moment of surprise at the fact that the temperamental young prince had chosen to keep a lid on his anger, rather than act impulsively immediately upon waking up to find himself shackled and confronted by a supposed emperor who was apparently responsible for their incarceration. He turned his head slightly to see how Goku was responding to their current circumstances, noting in passing that the boy appeared to have been knocked out while in the middle of getting dressed after taking his bath, wearing only a pair of loose black pants. Goku was holding his head and shaking it slowly, as though he was trying to clear it, perhaps still suffering from the aftereffects of the thing that had knocked them unconscious. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be paying any attention to what was going on around him, but other than that he seemed to be fine. 

"What cave did you crawl out of, you impudent little brat!?" All three Saiyans winced at the high, grating voice of the enraged Emperor Pilaf, who didn't seem to notice the effect his screeching had on the sensitive ears of his poor victims. "Everyone who is anyone has heard of Emperor Pilaf!" 

"Oh, really?" Vegeta yawned and leaned against the wall, exuding an air of boredom that was marred only by the small smirk on his face. It was clear to Bardock that he was enjoying taunting the vertically challenged emperor, and that he held no fear of any possible consequences his words might bring about. Narrowing his eyes, Bardock wondered whether the boy was acting recklessly, or if Vegeta knew something that he didn't, something that had infused him with the confidence that he could get away with goading their captor. "Actually, I just might believe that. Yes, I remember now," his smirk turned into a mocking grin. "Everyone _has_ heard of "Emperor" Pilaf - in fact, he's the topic of every conversation the whole world over! Pilaf the puny, they say. Pilaf the pathetic! Pilaf the pitiful, pointy-eared pigmy whose country is probably a colony of dust mites that ousted him because his brain was the only thing smaller than his kingdom. What an _honor_ it is to finally meet you in person, your... _high_ness." If the sarcasm in Vegeta's voice had been any heavier, it probably would have squished Pilaf like an overgrown bug. 

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU INSUFFERABLE, WRETCHED LITTLE MONKEY SPAWN!!!" Pilaf screamed at the top of his lungs, outrage and fury causing his eyes to bulge out of his head as his face turned an interesting shade of purple. "I am the one in control here! You are my prisoner - _all_ of you are my prisoners! I could have you all _killed_ if I wanted!! YOU WILL SHOW ME THE RESPECT I DESERVE OR I'LL TORTURE YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY UNTIL YOU ARE BEGGING FOR DEATH!!!" Winded by his own ranting, the enraged emperor drew in a ragged breath and took a moment to recompose himself, straightening his smock with a dignified tug. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes." Deliberately turning away from Vegeta, Pilaf stalked forward a couple paces so he could glare Bardock in the eye, assuming him to be the father of the two boys since all three had tails. "I demand to know how you and your two brats managed to gather three of _my_ dragonballs! I'm warning you: if you don't tell me what I want to know, I'll be forced to use..." he paused dramatically, trying to sound ominous, "_the Thing_." 

"Oh, now _there's_ an original name!" Vegeta butted in, looking as though he was about to burst out laughing any second now. "Did you think that one up all by yourself?" 

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!!!" 

Vegeta stared at the pompous pip squeak in outrage. How _dare_ he tell the Prince of all Saiyans to shut up! Opening his mouth to cut the already short monarch down to size, Vegeta was interrupted by a yelp of recognition. 

"_You_! I remember you!" With his mind finally clear of the aftereffects of the Thing, Goku was at last able to take a good look at his captors. Recognition dawned as he remembered his last encounter with the self-styled emperor, how he and his friends had been robbed, imprisoned, and nearly roasted alive by this same trio of villains. Glancing down at his shackled wrists, he scowled as he realized that he had once again been taken prisoner by Emperor Pilaf. 

"And I _certainly_ remember _you_, you stupid monkey boy!" Pilaf growled. "And you can be sure I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my castle! I haven't decided what I'm going to do to you yet, but whatever it is, I'll make sure it's long, painful, and ends with your demise!!" 

"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Goku protested angrily. "All I did to your dumb old castle was blow one tiny hole in the wall! Besides, you're the one stole my dragonballs _and_ you tried to kill me and my friends!" 

"'ONE TINY HOLE'?!?! YOU CALL DEMOLISHING MY CASTLE AND LEAVING NOTHING BEHIND BUT RUBBLE 'ONE TINY HOLE'?!?!?! That's it! I've had it with you!! Agent Mai, Agent Shao, take this brat outside and stake him to the ground on top of an ant hill! And make sure they're fire ants! Have a video camera set up to record everything, too." Snickering cruelly, the diminutive evil-doer added, "I want his family to watch him suffer!" 

_Chiiiannk!_

Up until this point, Bardock had been content to watch and listen, gathering information about his enemy from the words Pilaf exchanged with Vegeta and his son, but no one - _no one_ - threatened his son. Especially not some stunted, blue skinned, childish imp who claimed to be an emperor! Deciding he had had enough of sitting idly, the Saiyan warrior growled and swiftly stood up, yanking hard on his chains as he did so. As formidable as they had appeared earlier, the metal links - made to restrain stronger than average humans - were no match for a stronger than average Saiyan. 

"You just made your last mistake, you son of a bitch," Bardock snarled. 

~*~ 

*looks at the clock as she writes these author notes* 11:40 pm... uuhhhnn... so... tired... I only got four hours of sleep last night. But I was so close to finishing this chapter that I couldn't let myself go to sleep until I got it posted! Sooo long, too! But fun to write... when I wasn't stuck with writer's block. *sweatdrops* 

Anyway... the end is near... doom! DOOM! DOOM SHALL TAKE YOU ALL! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT! 

Random character: Wrong story, you idiot! 

Brenda: -_-; Oh... er... yeah. Hehe. As I was saying, we're drawing close to the end of the story, in case you couldn't tell. Can you believe that I originally planned to have only twenty chapters or so in this story? Sheesh, now there are 62! I don't know exactly how many chapters are left to write, but I'm predicting ten or less. Now, some of you might protest that you don't ever want me to end this story (whereas some of you who hate my story - and yet for some reason have read all 62 chapters thus far - might cheer in relief... -_-; ) but all good things must, in time, come to an end. Same thing applies to bad things, too. *grins* And for those of you who worry that I'm not covering everything I could or should... remember that there _will_ be sequels. Eventually. ^_^ 

Worked long and hard on this chapter, so please review. *puppy eyes* 


	62. Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf Part Two

Okay, I mentioned in the Comments section of my profile that I was going to do something a little mean to the readers in this chapter. Please believe that I'm not doing this out of sadistic intent (even though I DO enjoy a little reader torture every now and again *grins*) but because I ran into a dilemma in the future that could only be solved in this way. What is it that I'm going to do that's mean? Okay, you all no doubt remember the little cliff hanger I left you with last chapter... Well, it's not going to be picked up until _next_ chapter! Yup, sadly, I had to devote this whole chapter to mostly filler material. In fact, the title has almost nothing to do with the chapter at all! But that's because it's helping to set up for the third chapter in the three part section of the Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf. 

Anyway, on to the next order of business. Congratulations to SugarPlumSailor for being the 1800th reviewer. You get some leftover Halloween candy. ^_^ Yum! But from now on, I'm not going to call out the 100s reviewers. This story has gotten popular enough that I'm now having to do that each chapter, and so it's no longer anything special. But I will always be grateful to all of my reviewers for supporting me. ^_^ Thank you all! 

MAP! Map, map, who has the map? And what do you need a map for? Why, to help you visualize the layout of the capsule house! I've had this map for a while, to help me visualize what I'm writing about and to keep locations straight, but until now I didn't know if I'd need to let readers see the map. I think, now, that I do, so here it is. 

___[K]_   
[B] [P] [G] c> [ L ]   
[b]================[____ _]   
[g] [T] [V] [R] | | 

Crudely done (it looks a lot better on paper) but sufficient for my needs. [B]= Bardock's room. [P]= Bathroom (p for potty, because b was already taken). [G]= Goten's room. c>= closet and heating/cooling equipment. [K]= kitchen. [b]= Bulma's room. [g]= Goku's room. [T]= Trunks's room. [V]= Vegeta's room. [R]= Radditz's room. [L]= living room. Hope that makes things a bit clearer. 

Thanks to Frozenflower, ChibiCasey, and Shinka (and anyone else I might have forgotten to mention) for their help as beta readers and sounding boards. I couldn't have done it without you! 

Disclaimer: Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect royalties on DBZ ('cause I don't own it!) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf - Part Two) 

The house was a disaster. There was no other way to put it. Complete and utter disaster. Couch cushions had been carelessly tossed on the floor, the couches themselves tipped forward so their wooden frames showed, like the bare ribs of a beast that had been gutted and left to rot in the sun. The broken remains of lamps, jars, and vases lay mixed in with the scattered books and magazines that had once sat proudly in place on the shelves and tables within the room. Strewn across the floor and furniture were the shirts, pants, gis, dresses - pretty much all the clothing obtained from the trip to the Orange Star City mall - that had once resided in a few small capsules that had been left on the coffee table. Not one single thing had been left untouched in the wake of whoever had entered the house in their absence, and this was only the first room. 

"What... what happened?" Bulma stammered as she gaped through the open door at the wreckage of the living room. Not exactly the most intelligent question, since it was fairly obvious what had happened, but the young girl's mind was too shocked to come up with something better. Behind her, the two chibis stood with similar expressions of dazed disbelief on their faces, staring at the scene with wide eyes while trying to comprehend the situation. 

"It looks like someone picked up the house and shook it," Goten commented naively, the black haired demi Saiyan already stepping forward to peer curiously at the mess. Setting his teddy bear on the floor, he bent over to retrieve a fallen shirt and brushed off a few small shards from a broken lamp it had been sitting next to. He looked at it for a moment, then sighed and dropped it back to the floor so he could retrieve the teddy bear. Hugging the bear to his chest, he looked up at Bulma and asked, "Would somebody really do that?" 

"Goten, you dummy. Why would anyone want to pick a house up and shake it?" Trunks replied irritably. "It looks more like someone was searching for something and ransacked the house while looking for it!" Growling to himself, the older demi Saiyan angrily kicked a couch cushion across the room and scowled at everything in general. He was more than angry at the situation. He was furious! Someone had come in _his_ capsule house, wrecked everything in immediate sight and maybe the rest of the house as well, had probably found whatever it was they were after, and there hadn't been a single thing that he could do about it! He was a Prince of the Saiyan race and he had become the victim of some common, ordinary burglar! 

"Who would be out in the middle of a forest this far from the nearest city?" asked Bulma, a pensive frown on her face as she surveyed the damage. Deciding to try get a better idea of how extensive the damage was, the eleven year old girl began to pick her way across the room toward the hall where all the bedrooms were. The only other exits from the living room were the front door and the entrance to the kitchen, which probably wasn't very high on the priority list of a thief. 

Looking a little forlorn, Goten followed after the blue haired girl. "What would anyone want from us? We don't have anything to steal besides the house, and they didn't take that." 

"Unless they were after the dragonballs," Bulma stated soberly, finally reaching the other side of the room. "It could very well be that someone else has made a tracking device to find the dragonballs, which would lead them to this house despite being so far out of the way." 

"But why didn't Bardock or one of the others do anything to stop them?!" a frustrated Trunks growled, kicking another cushion aside as he stalked after his two friends. "No one in this time is strong enough to stop Bardock, Vegeta, Radditz, and maybe not even Goku! Especially not all four of them!" 

A funny look crossed over Goten's face as Trunks's words sank in and he abruptly stopped walking. Curious as to what he was doing, Bulma and Trunks paused to look at him, wondering if something was wrong. Opening her mouth to voice this concern, Bulma was cut off when the eight year old's face suddenly drained of all color, his eyes widening in alarm. "I can't sense them!" he yelped, twisting his head around as though searching for something. "Bulma, Trunks, I can't sense any of them! Grandpa, Goku, Vegeta, Uncle Radditz! They're all _gone_!" Spurred into action by the urgency of his discovery, Goten didn't even wait for a reaction from the others before sprinting past them and disappearing into the first room he came to. Only a few moments passed before he zipped out of Radditz's room and into the next room on the same side of the hall - Vegeta's room - his whole demeanor quickly becoming more frantic with each empty room he searched through. "Trunks! Help me find them! They have to be here somewhere!!" 

Apparently, Goten's panic was contagious, because worry and fear quickly began to gnaw at the minds of Trunks and Bulma. Chibi mother and future son exchanged looks of uncertainty, then nodded and split up, Trunks going down the hall to the rooms of the left side that Goten hadn't gotten to yet and Bulma turning around to make her way toward the kitchen. "I'll check the kitchen and around the house while you two check the bedrooms and the bathroom," she called after the boys, feeling the need to say something to make their search feel a little more organized, instead of the frantic and haphazard hunt it would otherwise be. That said, she quickly hurried across the ransacked living room and into the kitchen, pausing only to check under or behind objects that might possibly conceal someone's body. 

In the mean time, Goten and Trunks were systematically searching through every room, Goten going through the rooms on the left side of the hall and Trunks on the right. They only stayed in each room long enough to determine that none of the four missing people was in it, then moved on to the next room. Each room was the same as the last, clothes dropped all over the place, mattresses pulled off the beds, lamps broken, chairs knocked over, and random paraphernalia scattered everywhere, testifying of the thoroughness of the thieves that had torn the place apart looking for the dragonballs - or whatever it was that might have been their objective. 

So far, neither of the boys had needed any light to see by, since each room had a window, and neither of them had taken the time to bother turning on any of the lights. However, after searching Goten's room, Trunks made his way to the next room down the hall - the bathroom, and the only room in the house without a window - and suddenly found that there was insufficient light to see anything in the room clearly.. He located the switch to turn the lights on and flipped it, but to his surprise and confusion this had no effect. The lights remained off. Jiggling the switch a few times to see if maybe it was a loose wire, the nine year old demi eventually came to the conclusion that he'd have to search the bathroom without the aid of light. Unless... 

"Trunks, you're a genius," he murmured to himself with a small smirk, holding up one hand to form a small but brilliant ki ball that illuminated the whole room more than well enough to see by, casting stark shadows that shifted when he moved around the room. Puddles of water near the toilet and in the middle of the floor indicated that the bathroom had been used at least once, and by someone who hadn't bothered to clean up the mess he'd made, while he, Goten, and Bulma had been out shopping. Glancing in the tub to see if maybe someone was in it, he found that while there was no one in it, it was still full of water from someone's bath. Upon closer examination, Trunks was alarmed to realize that the bath water was a pale red color and that there was a thin reddish ring around the edge of the tub. Young as he was, the nine year old Saiyan was a fighter. He could still remember the time he and Goten had gone off to fight Majin Buu as Gotenks, only to come back in defeat with a bruised and bloody body. After they had split back into their separate forms, their mothers had cleaned and bandaged their wounds, then lectured them about recklessness. He remembered that the water that had been used to rinse the blood from their cuts and scrapes had also turned a pale red, just like the water in the tub was now. 

The conclusion was inescapable. Someone had cleaned a bloody wound in this bath tub - and judging by how much blood appeared to be in the water, it had been a pretty bad injury. 

A chill ran down Trunks's spine at the realization of just what his discovery might mean. Someone had been injured, but who? And how badly? Was it one of the people that had remained at the capsule house while he, Goten, and Bulma had gone to the store? If so, how had that person been injured? Maybe a simple sparring injury? Or was the person or people who had broken into the house strong enough to actually do serious damage to a full blooded Saiyan? Maybe one of the burglars had been injured while subduing the house's inhabitants, and this was his blood Trunks was seeing. Whoever had been injured, how badly was he, or she, hurt? Was someone dead, or dying? Or was it a minor wound that had bled a lot? 

"Okay, that's enough," he suddenly snapped at himself. "I can't tell what happened here, and it might not even be important, so I need to stop worrying uselessly about it and quit jumping to conclusions. The important thing is to find the others, or some hint as to what happened to them. There'll be time to think about it later." Taking a deep breath to help calm himself down, the nine year old boy began to scrutinize every detail of the bathroom, hoping for a hint as to what had happened. There wasn't much. Puddles on the floor, a damp towel lying crumpled off to one side, water droplets covering the seat of the toilet... maybe they were clues, or maybe they were just indications that the last person to use the bathroom had been pretty sloppy about cleaning up after himself. A green shirt that was too small for Bardock or Radditz hung on the towel rack, too clean to have been used, so Trunks guessed that Vegeta or Goku had put it there with the intention of wearing it soon. Probably Goku, then, since green wasn't really Vegeta's color of preference. "So either Goku was the one who got hurt and cleaned up in the bath tub, or it's just a coincidence that he left his shirt there. I can't assume either one, though, not unless there's more evidence elsewhere in the house." 

When another glance around the bathroom failed to reveal anything new, Trunks allowed the ki in his hand to dissipate and quickly walked out of the room. He needed to keep searching for signs of the others, then find Goten and see if he had found anything in one of the other rooms. "Right then... on to Bardock's room." 

~*~ 

Bulma shook her head at the mess the thieves had left behind in the kitchen. The cupboards had been emptied of their contents, most of which had gone straight on the floor, and bits of half eaten food lay everywhere. Obviously the culprits had decided to snack on the goodies they stumbled across, since Bulma _knew_ it couldn't have been the fault of any of the people who had been left at home. Bardock, Goku, Vegeta, and Radditz were all Saiyans, and Saiyans simply did _not_ waste food. A search of the kitchen wasn't entirely fruitless, since it did reveal that there was more than one burglar involved. At some point during the search, a bag of flour had been upended on the floor, leaving a broad pile of white powder that had been stepped in on multiple occasions by the vandals, leaving distinct sets of boot prints behind. One set was made from the large, clunky boots mostly likely worn by a male, and the other was smaller, slimmer, and somehow more "feminine." Whether there were more than two people involved in this crime, Bulma couldn't say, but she was certain that there had been two people in the kitchen at least. 

"Nothing else to find here," she murmured to herself, kicking at a fallen cookie jar with vague amusement. Somehow it hadn't surprised her that the cookies were all gone and that only crumbs remained as mute testament of their messy demise. "Guess I ought to check around the outside of the house now." 

Exiting the kitchen and traipsing back across the living room to the door that led outside, Bulma's thoughts drifted back to Goten's moment of panic. She felt pretty proud of herself for keeping a cool head and choosing to search by herself instead of following mindlessly after the two boys like a lost sheep, allowing her shock to rule her intellect. She was too old for that sort of behavior, and this way they'd cover more ground in less time, though it meant that she'd be leaving the two little Saiyans on their own to discover and interpret any clues they found. Without the benefit of her brilliant and observant mind, they might miss something important, but that was just something she had to risk. Speed was essential, and besides, Trunks seemed to be pretty bright, despite the fact that Vegeta was his father. _He probably gets his intelligence from his mother, whoever she is._

Once outside of the capsule house, Bulma began to examine her surroundings in earnest, even as she turned to her right and started walking slowly around the building. Pausing each time she passed a bedroom window, she carefully scrutinized the window sill and the ground beneath it for any signs of either the intruders or the missing Saiyans. Nothing so far, but she didn't let that get her discouraged. After all, sometimes no news was good news. The fact that she hadn't discovered any bodies certainly wasn't anything to cry over! 

By the time she had nearly completed her circuit around the house, Bulma was ready to assume that she wouldn't find anything out here. She'd found a set of indentations that had probably been made by an air plane - and a pretty old one, considering how the landing gear had to have been constructed in order to make those kinds of marks - accompanied by some faint foot prints in the dirt, but aside from these discoveries her search had turned up fruitless thus far. She hadn't even been able to tell how many people had gotten out of the plane! If only they'd stepped in a clear patch of dirt or mud, rather than the mainly grassy turf that made up most of the clearing the house was situated in. Sighing, the eleven year old girl passed by the kitchen window and turned the corner... 

...and planted her foot squarely on the face of an unconscious Radditz, heel slipping into his open mouth as the toe of her shoe gooshed his cheek. 

"Uwah!!" Bulma squawked in alarm as she lost her balance on the uneven and unstable footing of Radditz's face, arms pinwheeling in a frantic attempt to keep herself from falling. Alas, her efforts were futile, and the blue haired girl toppled backward to land painfully on her butt. "Ooff! Ow!" Rubbing her sore behind, she glared at whatever it was she'd stepped on that had caused her to lose her balance and fall, only to shoot her eyebrows up in surprise when she discovered the culprit was none other than one of the four people she'd been searching for: Radditz. 

Now, Radditz might have been unconscious due to having his nervous system overloaded by a pulse of electricity generated by Pilaf's Thing, but there are just some things that no one can sleep through. Having someone step on your face, prying your jaw open with the dirty heel of her shoe and crushing the flesh or your cheek with her toes... that's just not something you can sleep through, no matter what the circumstances. 

"NNNGGHGGGHACK!!!!" Eyes snapping open in pain and surprise, the unfortunate teenager jerked his head away from the cause of his pain and bolted upright. With one hand tenderly holding his injured jaw and the other frantically trying to wipe the dirt and grass off his tongue that had been deposited by Bulma's shoe, he uttered a few choice and unrepeatable phrases that clearly expressed just how he felt about the situation. "Why the hell don't you watch where you're going!?" he shouted angrily, pinning Bulma with a glare so sharp she almost felt like she'd been skewered. 

A torrent of emotions swirled through Bulma's mind, one after another in a quick progression, leaving her feeling somewhat lightheaded. First shock and surprise at finding Radditz alive and well and... well... under foot. Literally. Then embarrassment - after all, she _had_ just stepped on him! Anger was soon to follow. How dare he yell at her for what was a complete accident! If he didn't want to be trampled, then he shouldn't sleep on the ground like that! Finally... joy. Pure and simple joy flooded through her and washed away the other emotions, joy and relief that Radditz was _alive_, which might indicate that the others were also alive, that there might not be any dead bodies after all. 

"Sorry about that," she hastily apologized, standing up and brushing the dirt and leaves from her clothes. "It's just that I wasn't exactly expecting to find you lying on the ground like that." Arching one delicate blue eyebrow in puzzlement, she placed her hands on her hips and waited for the Saiyan to get up as well. "Mind telling me why you chose such a strange bed?" 

The fifteen year old glowered darkly at the young girl. "I was _not_ sleeping on the ground! I was knocked unconscious!" he growled angrily. Bulma got the impression that he wasn't so much angry at her as he was angry at the circumstances that led him to the undignified position of being under her foot. 

"Knocked unconscious?" she asked, surprised. "Did you see who got you? Are you hurt?" 

"That's just it." Radditz folded his arms with a look of confusion and frustration etched onto his features. "I didn't see any attacker, didn't hear any movement, didn't feel any blow. I was coming home to check up on lunch, and suddenly the air seemed to charge with electricity. My skin was prickling, every hair on my body was standing on end... and then everything went black. Next thing I know, I've got your foot in my mouth." That last bit earned Bulma another glare, which she ignored in favor of analyzing the information she'd just gotten. 

"Charged with electricity?" she mused to herself, brow furrowed in concentration. Her mind was racing with the possibilities and explanations that would produce such a result, sorting, examining, and discarding theories with a speed that many computers would envy. "Come on, I need to check something out." Without another word, the young genius hurried to the entrance of the capsule house, leaving Radditz to follow or not as he chose. Curious as to just what the hell was going on, Radditz chose, of course, to follow her. 

Once inside the house, Bulma swiftly maneuvered her way to the panel on the wall that controlled the lights and flicked a switch. Nothing happened. Seemingly not surprised by this, she grabbed an overturned chair and placed it below the panel, climbed on it to more easily reach the controls, and started prying the cover plate off. That done, she began to examine the circuitry in the walls, poking her finger around inside the mess of wires and circuit boards. Eventually, she put it all back together with an expression of grim satisfaction. "I thought as much. The circuitry's fried." 

"Care to tell me what that means?" Radditz asked coolly, leaning against a wall. He was burning with questions as to what had happened to the house, why everything was torn apart, where the others were, and so forth, but he was aware of no need to hurry, and so was willing to take things one question at a time. 

"The wiring in this house is pretty sturdy stuff. I should know; my father designed it. It'd take an extremely strong burst of electricity to short it out like this, not to mention probably every other electrical appliance in the house. And if a charge of energy that strong were to hit a living being... well, my guess is that was how you were knocked out. Your nervous system was overloaded, your brain shut down, and," she clapped her hands once to punctuate her words, "you were unconscious. That's my theory, anyway." 

"Makes sense," he grudgingly grunted, still somewhat sore about being trod upon. Eyeing the chaos in the room with distaste, he hazarded a guess. "So the person or people who launched this attack knocked all of us who were here unconscious, then proceeded to trash the place?" At Bulma's nod, he continued. "Do we know what they were after?" 

"Well, we're not certain yet, but-" 

"Yes, we are," Trunks interrupted his chibi mother, stepping into the room from the hallway, followed by a very distraught Goten. Making a visible effort to maintain a calm and steady voice, an effort that nearly succeeded in masking the faint quaver in his voice, the purple haired boy continued. "Bardock, Goku, and Vegeta aren't anywhere in the house, and all of the dragonballs are missing." He reached into his pockets with both hands and pulled out two objects, holding them out for everyone to see. "And they didn't take the Dragon Radar with them." 

In his trembling hands, Trunks held the two silver rimmed, green screened radars, one from this timeline, and one from the future. It didn't take a genius to figure out what this meant, though. Bardock, Goku, and Vegeta were missing, but if they had just gone to look for another dragonball and had happened to take the other three with them, then they would have taken the radar. Likewise, if the balls had been stolen and the three Saiyans had decided to track down the thieves, they would have needed the Dragon Radar to do so. All that was left, then, was that when they thieves had attacked, they had taken the dragonballs, and everyone they had found inside the house. 

"Goten and I have both tried to sense their ki." The facade of calm control was slipping, the nine year old's voice cracking with worry. "We can't sense them anywhere. They might be unconscious, or injured badly... or..." He trailed off, unable to bring himself to say the words. He might as well have said them out loud, though, for everyone in the room could hear the unspoken words whisper in their minds like a dread portent of the future:__

_Or they might be dead_. 

~*~ 

The reference to Gotenks and the Buu Saga is meant only to help confirm the time frame that this story happens in, nothing more. Again, I will NOT be bringing Gotenks into this story, so don't ask me to. As I've said before, I need to keep SOME surprises for the next story. ^_^ 

Surprisingly, people are still confused by the Thing. Okay, let me explain. I won't go into details about it, since you should have been able to pick up the functions and abilities just from reading. In actuality, it appears that the _name_ is the confusing part. Why is the Thing called the Thing? It's a very simple reason, really: Pilaf named it. 

Shella: *cringe* Yes, I know I have Bardock a little out of character... or maybe a lot. The problem there is that I STILL have not seen the Bardock special! I still don't know for sure what his character is supposed to be like, so I'm flying off the seat of my pants. Part of it is that he has changed as circumstances and events influence him, but part of it is, plain and simple, I'm ignorant. I predict that when I finally get to see the Bardock special, I'm going to look at my story and cringe. Big time. *sighs* I hope my readers can forgive me. 

For any of you who care, I recently found out that I have scoliosis (an incorrect curvature of the spine). I'm still young enough (barely) and the curve is mild enough that the chiropractor thinks he can fix it over time, but this requires many visits over the next six months. So far I've been having to go every day (except weekends), but that should lessen as progress is made. Hope it works! I want to regain my sense of balance, lose the tension in my shoulders, and be able to wear a bathing suit without people wondering why my spine sticks out like that. ^_^ 

If you asked to be on my mailing list, but didn't receive an update notification for this chapter, I apologize. Please e-mail me or review and ask again. ^_^ If you choose to e-mail me, please specify that you want to be on the WFTP mailing list, since I have more than one list. Make sure to give me your correct e-mail address! 

Reviews are a welcome contribution to the Campaign to Support Brenda! Just click that little button at the bottom of the screen, add a comment, and send it in. Please help keep our author happy and motivated! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Possession" by Android18, story id 882780. During those mysterious three years before the androids attacked, Bulma and Vegeta somehow managed to get together and produce Trunks. But perhaps it didn't start out as love... perhaps it started out as a battle for possession of each other's minds and sanity. Though I don't read many B/V get togethers, since most of them are poorly done and out of character, this one didn't disappoint me. I find the characters well written _and_ in character, and the story itself is well written. 


	63. Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf Part Thr

This seems to be getting pretty standard, but once again I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. You can blame December, though. December almost always brings any writing I have in the works to a grinding halt. Depression, Christmas shopping, preparing for travel (or in this year's case preparing for family to visit), writer's block... I'm sure you all get the point. 

Anyway, I have a major life change coming up! I'm starting my first year of college on January 13! Going to start off with a goal of getting an Associates in Arts degree. ^_^ The only thing that could possibly stop this from happening is if, for some reason, the college doesn't get my ACT scores on time, effectively preventing me from being accepted. I'm racing against the clock here with only a few days to finish all the loose ends before tuition is due, but I have confidence it will all happen. What this means, though, is that I will be a full time student once again, and I don't know how much time I'll have to spend writing. I won't quit, but things will probably remain slow. 

The other big thing (for me) that's happening this month is my birthday. Yup, that's right, I'm turning twenty on January 29. I feel so old. ^_^* 

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers for cheering me on despite my tardiness and inexpert writing skills. ^_^ 

Disclaimer: The only thing I own are the burns and blisters I received as Christmas presents from all my lovely flamers. ^_^* Thank you so much... your Christmas spirit is so *sniff* admirable. Too bad Santa didn't decide to give me the rights to DBZ. ^_^ 

Warning: This fic IS rated PG-13, and this chapter is one of the reasons I chose that rating. There is an increase in graphic violence, and the swearing, what little there is, is harsher than I've used so far in this story. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf - Part Three) 

"All right, it's decided then," Bulma announced firmly to the three boys. "We'll capsulize the house and use the Dragon Radar to locate Bardock, Goku, and Vegeta, since whoever took the dragonballs is most likely also responsible for kidnapping them. We should leave right away to keep from giving the thieves any more of a head start." Bulma, Radditz, Trunks, and Goten were all sitting around the kitchen table, since the kitchen was probably the cleanest part of the house and none of them had felt inclined to straighten up any of the other rooms. To save time, they had shared what they had discovered and made plans while eating a hasty meal made from the contents of one of the food capsules where Bulma had stowed some of the recently bought groceries. 

"I still don't think you should come," Radditz groused, folding his arms in a rather sulky manner. There had been a brief power struggle between him and the blue haired girl, both of them trying to take charge of the group, and he had somehow managed to lose. On Vegeta-sei, the leader would have been the most powerful person by default, unless rank was a factor, but that would have placed Trunks in command. It went without saying that children should not be in charge of a search and rescue expedition. Arguing that since he was the oldest by a good four years, ranked higher than any of them, and was, in his opinion, the most mature, the wild maned teenager had thought that there was no question that he should lead. 

And yet somehow this logic had not been able to stand up to the eleven year old girl's domineering personality. Bulma had shot down each of his qualifying points one by one as easily as though she was shooting fish in a barrel. Age, she argued, was not a factor in this because they all were children, technically, and her superior intellect and knowledge of the planet outweighed any advantage or maturity a measly four years held. As for rank..._ Just what difference does that make?_ she'd asked. _Just because you're a muscle-bound recruit in some weird alien army doesn't mean you have any leadership ability! I happen to be the sole heir of this world's largest corporation, you know, so I've been trained for management my whole life!_ And then, of course, she was female. This wasn't brought up on the list of reasons why she should lead, but it had been a deciding factor nonetheless. Whenever a female wanted something, she always managed to get it in the end. Always. 

Bulma glared at Radditz. "We've already been through this, Radditz! I am _not_ about to sit around here on my own, waiting for who knows how long while the rest of you get into who knows how much trouble! Besides, you might need my help. If something were to happen to the Dragon Radars, I'm the only one who can fix them. Or you might run up against some high tech security system that you can't blast to smithereens! If I'm not with you, _then_ what will you do?! I'm going, and that's final, so quit complaining!" _Besides, I am _not_ being left behind to clean up this mess!_ To her satisfaction, Radditz closed his mouth and didn't say another word, although he did mutter under his breath and shot several dark looks in her direction. That was okay with her, though, just so long as he didn't cause any more trouble. 

"Now," she continued as though there hadn't been any interruption at all. "If everyone's finished eating, let's pack up and head out! The sooner we leave, the sooner we find the others!" Not even bothering to put her dishes in the sink, Bulma stood up and headed out of the kitchen, followed by Goten and Trunks, who had wisely remained silent during the exchange, and trailed by Radditz. The wild maned teen looked about as sour as a bunch of unripe grapes, tail lashing angrily behind him, but he kept his thoughts to himself. As much as he disliked the outcome of the verbal battle, he'd only cause more delay if he kept arguing. For the sake of his father, brother, and the prince, he would concede to the onna. _This_ time. _Next _time would be another matter completely. 

Or so he told himself. 

~*~ 

For a moment, the only thing Bardock could see was red. Red rage, red haze, red blood. Pilaf's blood. He had a brief, delightfully violent vision of taking his fist and ramming it into the little imp's face with earth shattering force, literally bursting the blue bastard's head like an overripe melon. He savored the terror he saw written all over Pilaf's pasty face as he plotted out exactly what he would do first. He would start off by breaking every bone in the midget's body one by one, then rip off his fingers and toes, then his arms, legs, and so forth, until the only thing left was his head and torso. Two small ki blasts to the eyes would produce the extremely painful effect of blinding his victim, and without his tongue Pilaf's screechy, annoying voice would be stilled down to simple screams. Bardock could handle screams, would, in fact, enjoy them immeasurably. And once all that was done, taking care to keep him alive and conscious through all of this, the Saiyan warrior would take great pleasure in extinguishing the life of this pathetic little worm who would dare try to harm his son. 

Taking one deliberate step forward, Bardock was satisfied to see Pilaf shrink back in fear, both he and his lackeys literally shaking in their boots. Another step forward. The broken chains on his wrists clinked in an ominous way, like miniature bells tolling out the doom of these three wretches. Pilaf skittered back another couple of steps, his little heart pounding so hard that Bardock's ears were able to hear it. Following Pilaf's lead, Mai and Shao retreated a few paces as well, anxious not to be in front of their emperor for fear that Bardock would take out his wrath on whoever he got to first. _Cowards._ Bardock's lip curled upward in contempt and disgust. _The short one calls himself an emperor, and yet he is unwilling to face the consequences of his own mistakes. His bodyguards are no better, falling back when they should be leaping forward to defend their ruler. None of them deserve to breathe the same air as a true warrior, let alone a prince of Vegeta-sei._ Eyes lit with the promise of death, the Saiyan warrior again advanced on his quarry. Again, they cowered away. 

Only this time they could retreat no further. In their haste to keep their distance from the vengeful father, Pilaf, Mai, and Shao had accidentally angled away from the door and now found themselves with their backs to the wall and no place to run. Quailing in fear, the three watched with wide eyes as Bardock stopped a few few in front of them, face as grim as death itself. 

"_Nobody_ threatens my family," he said in a darkly even voice that was somehow far more menacing than if he'd shouted at the top of his lungs. A deep, boiling anger welled up from the depths of Bardock's soul, feeding directly into his ki and causing it to increase so rapidly that a dark blue aura of energy burst into existence around his body. Pilaf didn't need to be able to sense ki to know that this was a very, very bad sign, but the only thing he could do was watch in horror, eyes wide as saucers, as the blue fire swelled and shifted to a reddish color. The air was filled with an energy so intense that the pointy eared midget could even feel the electricity dancing across his skin, almost to the point where his skin would singe. 

"C-can't we just... talk about this for a minute?" Pilaf whined pathetically. Beside him, Mai and Shao looked so hopeful about this possibility that it was almost comical, nodding their heads so hard it was a wonder they didn't fall off. "I was... er... joking! Yeah, joking! Can't you take a joke? Eh heh..." The half-pint emperor attempted to chuckle in an effort to prove that, indeed, it had all been a silly little joke, but what actually came out of his mouth sounded more like a strangled whimper. Of course, fear _did_ tend to have a distorting effect on one's voice. 

Bardock's ki aura flared sharply to match his rising fury. "A _joke_? Promising to torture my son is supposed to be _funny?!_ You think that toying with lives is _humorous!?_" Raising one fist in front of him, he growled angrily, "If that's the sort of "joke" you enjoy, then let's see how much you laugh at your own punch line!!" With a vicious snarl, the Saiyan warrior snapped his fist forward, straight into Pilaf's gut. The satisfying _crunch_ of bones breaking was music to Bardock's ears, and when Pilaf's eyes bugged out and he began to cough up blood, all Bardock did was smirk and slowly pull his fist away, allowing the midget to drop to the floor. Fortunately for Pilaf - or unfortunately, depending on your point of view - Bardock had kept his strength under tight control, using only a fraction of the power available to him to make sure that his victim didn't die in one blow. 

Pilaf did not _deserve_ a quick death. 

"That's odd," he snorted, glaring down at his feet where Pilaf twitched and spasmed in pain. "I don't seem to hear you laughing. I guess the joke's not as funny when you're on the receiving end." Lifting one booted foot, the vengeful father brought the toe crashing into the blue gremlin's side, punting him like a ball in a children's game so hard that Pilaf smashed through the brick wall and hurtled across the room on the other side. With a sickening _smack-thud_, the battered and bleeding emperor hit the far wall and sank to the floor, too stunned to do anything besides mewl in agony. 

Not even waiting for the dust from the broken wall to settle, Bardock advanced through the rubble, ignoring the rain of pebbles and mortar that fell all around him. The powerful aura that surrounded him served to prevent the dust from settling in his hair or on his clothing, and even the larger pebbles flew away from him as though in fear. Bardock didn't even noticed this, though, as his attention was focused entirely on the huddled form in the room beyond the prison cell. 

"P-please," Pilaf coughed, lifting himself weakly off the floor. "Spare me..." Drops of blood splattered on the floor beneath him, dripping from the cuts and scrapes inflicted on him when he'd shattered the prison wall with his body. "I swear... I'll never... even think about... touching your son... again!" he gasped, broken ribs making it heard to breathe. 

"Spare you?" Bardock echoed scornfully. Upon reaching the fallen emperor, he bent down and casually wrapped his hand around Pilaf's scrawny neck, lifting him up so he could glare directly into the offensive little creep's eyes. "Why should I spare you? If our positions were reversed, I have no doubt that you would not spare any of us! No, you fucking little asshole, I'm not about to spare your miserable, stinking hide! If anything, I'm going to _skin you alive!!_" 

~*~ 

When Pilaf's poor body impacted with the wall, Mai and Shao quickly took the opportunity to scoot away from the rubble, using the cloud of dust as a cover to hide them as they made their way to the door. Yes, technically they had been hired by Pilaf, and so it _could_ be considered their duty to protect him... but why risk their lives for a lost cause? It was more than obvious to the pair of lackeys that Bardock could and would grind their emperor into a bloody pulp, and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Best look after themselves, then, and get out of there before they, too, fell victim to their prisoner's wrath. Besides, if you looked at it percentage-wise, saving two out of three of the members of Pilaf's empire wasn't bad compared to none out of three, even if the one they lost _was_ the emperor. So it was with these justifications in mind that the woman and the dog-man crept hastily toward the prison door... 

"Going somewhere?" a young boy's smug voice asked, and suddenly Vegeta was there, standing directly in front of the closed door. While Bardock had been confronting the three villains, the young prince had ripped the shackles away from his wrist as easily as tearing paper, after which he had contented himself to sitting back and watching the entertaining torment of their jailers. After what they had done to him, Vegeta had wanted to inflict severe bodily harm on them himself, but Bardock had beaten him to it. Oh well. They'd die anyway, one way or another, and that was enough to satisfy him for now. _Might as well enjoy the show,_ he'd thought with a smirk. 

But now that Bardock was concentrating solely on Pilaf he had given the other two a chance to escape, and that was something the Saiya-jin no Ouji wasn't about to allow. Whether they were simple accomplices or direct perpetrators of the kidnapping and theft didn't matter to him. For their crimes against his person, they deserved to die just as surely as their so-called emperor did, and since Bardock was busy with that little pip squeak, that meant Vegeta would get to take on the role of executioner for these two. This was going to be fun. 

"Out of the way, kid," an irritated Agent Mai snapped, annoyed with any delay that might allow the raging warrior behind them enough time to notice their escape. Apparently she didn't know just exactly what she was up against, because she calmly pulled a small handgun out of her trenchcoat and pointed it at Vegeta's head. With a condescending smirk, she added, "Before you get hurt." He was just a child, after all. A boy that small couldn't possibly be a threat, and even if he _did_ have a tail like the other two, that didn't mean he could live with a bullet in his brain. 

An amused chuckle rippled from the ten year old's throat as he casually leaned back against the door, arms folded across his chest. "Oh, don't mind me," he laughed, idly waving his tail in an unconcerned manner. "By all means, go ahead and shoot. I'm feeling stubborn and suicidal today, so I'm not likely to move unless you kill me first." The way his eyes danced with mirth gave the impression that he was enjoying some grand cosmic joke that no one but he was privy to. 

Growling impatiently, Shao glared at the impudent boy who dared to block their way. "Just shoot the brat and be done with it, Mai! We don't have time to play around!" 

"I know that, Shao!" Mai snarled, taking her eyes off Vegeta just long enough to clout the dog-man behind the ears. "But I don't think our _friend_ back there is so caught up in what he's doing that he won't notice the sound of a gun being fired! I'd like to _avoid_ being caught, you idiot!!" 

"Well, so would I!" the furry creature yelled, just an edge of panic tingeing his voice as he heard a piercing shriek come from the room Bardock and Pilaf were in. "But I also don't wanna stick around long enough to be caught just because some stupid kid has a death wish!" 

The black haired woman hesitated. In truth, she really didn't like the thought of just shooting a child in the head, but this was a matter of her life versus his death. If her life was on the line - and in this case it was - she would be willing to do just about anything to save herself - even murder a child in cold blood. She briefly considered the possibility of just walking up and shoving him out of the way, but the thought was quickly erased from her mind when a blood curdling scream shook the air. _No time for mercy. Tough luck, brat._ Calmly aiming the barrel of the gun between Vegeta's eyes, she cocked the trigger and fired. 

~*~ 

_Beep. Beep. Beep._ The comforting sound of the Dragon Radar tracking the cluster of four dragonballs echoed in Radditz's ears along with the rushing of the wind as the four of them sped through the air. The flight _might_ have been an enjoyable experience, except for two things: One, he was still quite concerned for Bardock, Goku, and Vegeta, and two, he was the unhappy bearer of an excitable, panicky, and bossy eleven year old girl. 

"Would you quit squirming already?" he grumbled for perhaps the tenth time in the last half hour. "You're pulling my hair!" 

"Well, ex_cuse_ me, mister mighty Saiyan warrior!" Bulma snapped back from her position on his back. With one arm wrapped around the older boy's neck, she was attempting to manipulate the radar to see how close they were getting without falling off, _not_ something done easily when you were at least two hundred feet in the air and traveling almost as quickly! "It'd help if I didn't keep getting your hair whipped into my face!!" 

Neither of them were very happy with the arrangement, but there hadn't been any other choice. None of their capsule cars, even the ones Trunks had brought from the future, could compare to the speed of their flying, and they had to assume that time was very much of the essence for this rescue mission. Goten and Trunks were too small to comfortably carry the blue haired girl, so the task had fallen to the unlucky teenager. Radditz had refused to carry her, though, insisting instead that she fly on his back. He did _not_ want to run the risk that her "feelings" for him might return if he held her in such an intimate position. Thankfully, Bulma had conceded with his demand. 

Unfortunately, this unspoken agreement to put up with each other during the trip didn't extend to bickering. 

"Well, it's not exactly like there's much I can do about it, so why don't you quit complaining and shut up?!" 

"Maybe you should cut your hair so it's not always getting in the way! Don't tell me what to do, Radditz!" 

"I am _not_ going to cut my hair!! Keep in mind who's carrying you, little girl! I could easily just drop you-" 

"I AM NOT A LITTLE GIRL!!!" 

"WOULD YOU TWO STOP FIGHTING?!?!" Trunks yelled in their ears, entirely fed up with the constant stream of verbal abuse they'd been flinging at each other the whole time they'd been flying. "You've been at each other's throats ever since we left the house! Can't you put aside your differences until _after_ we find the others?!" Giving them a glare that would have done his father proud, the lavender haired demi-Saiyan folded his arms and waited until they looked suitably chastened before continuing in a calmer voice. "My radar indicates we should be wherever the dragonballs are in another five minutes. Keep your guard up. We have no idea what we're dealing with here." 

_Since when did he become the leader?_ Bulma grumbled silently, though she still listened to him for some reason. There was just something about him that made her think of her father, and when Dr. Briefs ordered something, Bulma obeyed. Shrugging these thoughts aside, she reluctantly nodded her head at Radditz, indicating that she was willing to have a truce, for now. Radditz reluctantly nodded back. 

While all this had been going on, Goten had been straining his senses in the hope that he would find some trace of his grandfather, chibi father, or chibi Vegeta. As they drew closer to the location of the dragonballs, his heart sank lower into his stomach. He still couldn't sense any of them! Undaunted, the eight year old boy continued his silent search, unwilling to give up on the possibility that they were alive. Now, with only five minutes left in the journey, it seemed almost impossible that they would discover the three missing Saiyans alive and well, at least not at the same location where the dragonballs were. 

And then Goten felt it. Faint at first, but quickly spiking higher and higher; there was no mistaking that ki. "Trunks! Bulma! Radditz!! It's GRANDPA!!!" 

~*~ 

I had more planned for this chapter, but decided that I should probably cut it off here and save it for the next chapter. No, I haven't forgotten about Goku. I purposefully let him out of this chapter because the mood of his scene doesn't fit with the mood I was setting for this chapter, but he'll fit in quite nicely next chapter. ^_^ 

Can anyone guess what I got to do over the weekend? I'll give you a hint: It had a major impact on my characterization of Bardock in this chapter.... That's right! I FINALLY got to see the Bardock special! ^_^ In both Japanese subtitled and English dub! Hurray! To my surprise, my characterization of him wasn't as far off as I had feared, though there's still a large margin of error, varying depending on whether you're looking at the Japanese version or the American version. *shrugs* Oh well. I can't fix what's already been written. Can only try to do better in the future. 

Remember that I DO have a mailing list. If you want to be on it (or if you thought you were on it but didn't get an e-mail notification) simply state in a review or e-mail that you want to be on the mailing list and leave the e-mail address you want me to use. If you e-mail me, be sure to specify that you want to be on the Wish For The Past mailing list. 

**_Story Advertising_**

The Very Last Lemon (story id 1062131), by Frozenflower. The DBZ gang's days of fruitless lemony romps have come to an end. See how they find this out, and their struggle against the greatest of all evils, the NC-17 ban on ff.net! (I co-authored this one! Go read it!) 


	64. Second Chances

I'm such a bad girl. I'd rather be writing a story than writing my book report. I'll probably miss my deadline for the book report, all because I was suddenly inspired to write. ^_^* Oh well. Thanks to everyone for their patience! 

Introducing a special appearance of _Bad Pun Theater!_ Starring... Pilaf, Mai, and Shao! 

Pilaf: Tell me again why we're doing this? 

Mai: Because the author thought up a terrible joke which she wanted to inflict upon her audience. 

Pilaf: Oh. 

Shao: Um... so who's supposed to be telling the joke, anyway? 

Mai: *flips through the script* Looks like I get that honor, however dubious it might be. *clears her throat* Okay. If Pilaf was a cook, what would be his Chef's Specialty? 

Pilaf: Hm.... I never thought about going into the food industry... Hey, that's an excellent idea! I'll take over the world by becoming the personal chef of all the world leaders and then slipping poison into their food! Nyahahahaha!! THAT would be my specialty! Poisoned pilaf! Get it? 

Shao: *blinks* I don't get it. 

Mai: *fakes a laugh* Very clever, your highness. You've made a play on your own name, which is also the name of a kind of rice dish. Unfortunately, that's not the answer in Brenda's script. 

Pilaf: *narrows his eyes* Oh really? *pulls out a flame thrower* I think I need to have a little talk with our dear little author... What did SHE say my specialty would be? 

Mai: *mouth quirks in a slight smile* Filet mignon, sir. 

Shao: *confused* How is that funny? *scratches his head in puzzlement* 

Mai: *sighs* It's not, but SHE thinks it's funny because it sounds like "flaming minion." 

Shao: *chuckles* Hey, she's got that part right! My fur's _still_ growing back from the last time Emperor Pilaf used his flame thrower on me! 

Pilaf: What?! How dare you! You ungrateful wretch! You should be glad I spared your life! YAAAAHHH!! Take that! *chases Mai and Shao off the screen with his flame thrower* 

Disclaimer: While I do not own DBZ, I take full credit and/or blame for the jokes told in the Bad Pun Theater. *bows* Thank you, thank you! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Second Chances) 

_BANG!!!_

Faster than the human eye could follow, the bullet from Mai's gun tore through the air with deadly accuracy toward its destination between Vegeta's eyes... 

...slammed into the young boy's head... 

...and fell to the floor in a deformed lump. 

_Tink tink t-tink..._

Vegeta's eyes glinted with amusement as they followed the bullet's movement until it finally stopped bouncing. "I assume," he commented idly, looking up with a mocking smirk, "that that was _supposed_ to hurt." Taking in the expressions on their faces, the ten year old prince nearly laughed out loud. Their looks of slack-jawed disbelief were simply priceless! As if _they_ could ever hope to harm _him!_

Disbelief turned to panic on Mai's face, and panic has never been known for encouraging rational behavior. With a wordless yell of fear, the black haired woman gripped the gun with both hands and fired bullet after bullet at the alien child who suddenly seemed a lot more threatening. Vegeta hardly appeared to move at all... 

...and yet every single bullet missed. 

"Something seems to be wrong with your weapon," the little Saiyan observed coolly with just a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The smile turned into an outright smirk as he reached up and casually wrapped his fingers around the barrel of the gun. "Here. Let me fix it." With just the tiniest amount of pressure the metal crumpled as easily as paper in Vegeta's hands. "Oops," he said, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. "I think I broke it." 

Gaping openly at the crushed end of the gun, Mai and Shao were struck utterly speechless. It was Shao who recovered first, the dogman turning his awed, fearful, and slightly horrified gaze on the boy with the flame-styled hair. "What _are_ you?!" 

"I am Vegeta." The smirk returned to Vegeta's face in full force even as he stood a little taller, folding his arms across his chest in a perfect imitation of his father. "The Prince of all Saiyans!" he announced proudly. If they had been paying attention, they would have noticed his tail had curled around his waist. A clear sign to any Saiyan that he was done playing around. Uncrossing his arms, he lifted a single hand and began to form a glowing yellow ball between his fingers. "And now it's time for you to die." 

~*~ 

Goku was frozen in horror at what his father had become. The transformation that had suddenly come over Bardock was almost frightening for Goku to behold, almost as though some monster had woken up inside his father and taken over control. He'd grown so used to being around his father when no danger was present, the only other people near him being friends and family, that he hadn't even imagined that there might be another side to the spiky haired man. It wasn't so much that Bardock was killing Pilaf, it was the way he was doing it! After all, Goku himself was willing to kill if the need arose... but this wasn't the same thing! This was prolonged torture! 

At first Goku didn't make a move, partly because of his shock and horror at the situation he found himself in, partly because he was still groggy and disoriented from being knocked out. He'd had such strange dreams, too. Scary dreams of Radditz dying and sad dreams of his father leaving him. It was hard to shake off the unpleasant feelings that these nightmares had left him with. Another scream coming from the adjacent room galvanized Goku into action, causing him to push away the last vestiges of the nightmares. Jumping to his feet, the little boy gave the thick chains that bound him to the prison wall a mighty yank, surprising himself when they broke on the first try. _Wow... I thought they'd be tougher than that..._ Goku shrugged the thought aside and immediately ran toward the hole in the wall that his father had made with Pilaf's body. He couldn't just let this happen! He had to _do_ something! 

"Tousan, stop!" he shouted as soon as he passed into the other room. "This isn't right!" The sight that greeted his eyes caused him to recoil in horror. Somehow or other, Bardock had managed to implant Pilaf in the stone wall on the other side of the room in such a way that the midget's mangled body didn't fall right back out. The shape of the indent in the wall implied that his father had used Pilaf's body to make it, but that would be almost impossible to do and still keep the emperor alive! For blue emperor _was_ alive, though just barely, still whimpering and crying pathetically. Maybe Pilaf was more durable than he seemed. After all, he did have a knack for living through things that would kill most normal people. 

Unfortunately for him, this didn't look like it was going to be one of those times, because Bardock didn't seem to have heard his youngest son's protests. Either that or he had purposefully chosen to ignore him. He stood in front of Pilaf, teeth bared in a snarl that barely seemed able to express the rage he was feeling, a rage that transformed itself readily into a fiery aura that sheathed his body in its red glow. Placing his open hand on Pilaf's chest, regardless of the blood that flowed from multiple wounds, Bardock's fingers began to shine with deadly energy. Goku had never seen a more terrifying image in all his young life. 

_This isn't right,_ Goku silently repeated to himself, reaffirming his resolve to put a stop to this. Quickly stepping forward, he took hold of Bardock's pants and gently tugged, trying to gain his father's attention. "Please, tousan," he begged. "Don't do this." 

Bardock slowly turned his head so he could give his son a hard, penetrating look. "Why not?" he asked, both eyes and tone of voice demanding that Goku explain himself right now. Goku shivered under his father's scrutinizing stare. It almost felt like his father could see right into his soul. 

"There's no _reason_ to kill him, father. It's not right to kill someone when they haven't done anything bad!" Goku protested. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Pilaf had lifted his head weakly, a pathetic expression of hope on his face. The monkey-boy's words had dawned on him, too, and now he was just beginning to think that he might possibly get out of this alive. 

"Nothing bad!?" Bardock shouted incredulously, a little bit of anger creeping into his voice. "Didn't you hear what that little bastard threatened to do to you?! He wanted to torture and _kill_ you, Goku! Why the hell would you want to spare him?!" 

Goku understood that Bardock wasn't really angry with him, that it was really Pilaf that was the subject of his ire, but it still scared him more than a little to have his father yell and swear at him like this. In all the time that he'd known this man, Goku had only seen him act loving, kind, sometimes stern, sometimes angry... but never like this. This was a side of his father that he wasn't certain that he liked. Despite all this, the young Saiyan stubbornly pressed onward, refusing to back down on his principles. "But he didn't actually _do_ any of those things, tousan, did he? He could've just been trying to scare us for all you know! Besides which, it still wouldn't be right to kill him like you were doing! It's wrong to torture people to death!" 

Holding his breath, the seven year old Saiyan watched his father closely for any sign of a reaction. Bardock seemed to be silently studying him, his face set in grim lines, but the anger was fading away. It was still there, of course, but it was no longer controlling him. That was good. Maybe now he would be willing to listen to reason. Along with the anger, though, there was also an element of surprise and confusion in the way Bardock looked at his son, almost as though he had never quite seen the boy before. Goku didn't understand how he had done it, but he knew that he had taken his father off guard. _I wonder what he's thinking..._

Finally, Bardock spoke, his eyes boring holes into Goku's soul. "If Pilaf _had_ tried to kill you, would you still want to let him live?" 

"People deserve second chances," Goku responded with conviction, meeting his father's eyes with a steady gaze. "Even bad people can change. I don't want to kill anyone unless I have to." 

Again he got the feeling that he had somehow surprised his father. How? How could what he had just said be a surprise? It made perfect sense in Goku's mind, so why was his father startled by this reasoning? It suddenly occurred to Goku that he didn't really know his father very well. What kind of life had Bardock led that he would think nothing of killing someone just because of a threat? And how could he think that torturing someone like this was _ever_ right? Goku wasn't certain he would like the answers to those questions. 

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Bardock pulled his hand away from Pilaf's chest. His face was unreadable now, or rather Goku didn't know how to interpret the expression his father had on his face. "All right," Bardock sighed. Stepping away from Pilaf, the Saiyan father wiped the blood off his hand, then took hold of his son's hand. He shook his head silently, almost as if to say 'I hope you know what you're doing.' 

_Of course I know what I'm doing, daddy,_ Goku silently replied, utterly confident in his path. He waited until Pilaf managed to work himself out of the emperor-shaped impression in the wall before letting go of his father's hand and walking up to the pointy eared gremlin. At first, Pilaf was able to stay on his feet, despite the beating his body had just taken, but Goku knew that wouldn't last long. The bones he knew Bardock had broken would make standing painful, let alone walking! Stepping forward, he caught Pilaf under the arms before he could fall and helped walk him out of the room. 

~*~ 

_This feels so good! Kami, how long has it been since I did this? The rush of power through my veins, the solid connection of my fist with an opponent, the thrill of knowing myself to be stronger than my foe... This is what I live for! And it feels so good to be able to take out my anger on someone who deserves it!_

_Pilaf _more_ than deserves my anger._

_Huh? Did you just say something, Goku? Stop? Stop what? I must be mistaken. I probably just didn't hear him right. I wasn't really paying attention, after all. Here, Goku. I'll just finish off this disgusting little grub and then you can tell me what you said._

_I am not hearing this. My son cannot be asking me to spare this bastard's life! Why?! Why do you want to spare him?! He doesn't deserve to live! Answer me, Goku. Tell me why I shouldn't rip this little bug limb from limb._

_.... I don't believe this. Can my son really be this naive? He heard what Pilaf threatened to do to him! Right and wrong don't apply here, Goku. Pilaf is your enemy, don't you understand? A warrior does not leave an enemy alive, because enemies have a tendency of coming back for revenge... and next time you might not be able to beat him. I am killing Pilaf for _your_ sake, Goku! Besides, nobody threatens my son and gets away with it._

_........_

_Are you really my son? Are you really the child who was born with the name Kakarot? Are you even a Saiyan at all? I have to wonder.... You think so differently from others of our race. On Vegeta-sei, you don't make a threat like that unless you mean it, or unless the person you're threatening knows you well enough to know you're joking, or if you know for a fact that you're strong enough to handle whatever consequences may come from your threat. Idle threats can kill you. If Pilaf threatened you, that would mean that he had every intention of following through on his threats, right? And yet... maybe you're right. Perhaps he mistakenly thought himself to be stronger than us - although how he could possibly think that is beyond me! But if he did think that... maybe it _was_ an idle threat. Somehow, though, I don't think so. I think that it's just your soft-heartedness that makes you give your enemy the benefit of the doubt._

_Is soft-heartedness really such a bad thing, though? Only if it overrides your better judgment, I suppose. If you're so naive and trusting that you let an enemy live who can and will kill you, then, my son, you are foolish indeed._

_What would you do if Pilaf _did_ try to kill you?_

_Second chances? But how do you know who deserves a second chance and who doesn't? You'd have to be able to read their souls, or their future, and very few people in this universe are born with either gift. How many times have you given others a "second chance"? Who were they, I wonder?_

_Was I one of them? Did you look at me and realize how much blood I have on my hands... and not care? Did you forgive _me_ for the things I've done in the past? I abandoned you, left you alone on an alien planet for seven years... but you still love me. Huh. Maybe there's something to this "second chance" system after all..._

_And yet... Goku, I hope your kindness doesn't get you killed._

_All right, Goku. Go and help your enemy. Even though I think it would be better to kill him now than to regret it later, I don't think I could refuse you anything you wanted this badly. And if your kindness backfires, then I'll be there to protect you from the fallout._

_I hope. I haven't figured out yet what those visions mean, and since one of them showed me leaving you, I don't know if I can truthfully say that I will always be there for you. I don't want to leave you, Goku! But... will I?_

~*~ 

There was so much more that I wanted to put in this chapter, but when I got to this point I realized that what I had left to write was probably enough to make a whole second chapter! I thought about a compromise, writing part of it now and saving the rest for the next chapter, but there just wasn't any good place to stop anytime in the near future. So even though this chapter feels vaguely "incomplete," I felt it was for the best. 

Things are beginning to wind down now, although I still have one more plot twist before I'm done with Pilaf, Mai, and Shao. Can anyone guess what it is? ^_^ 

To all flamers past and future: You don't like my story? Quit reading and go write your own! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"What We Knew," by Sierrakoi, story id 1109024. After a lab accident, Vegeta is left with two minds and one body. The extra mind? None other than his old self that 'died' on Namek. Can Bulma help the Saiyajin no Ouji before he loses control, or will she become a victim to his anger's rebirth? (I rather like this story. The author keeps her characters mostly in character and avoids many of the more obnoxious Bulma/Vegeta clichés. Definitely worth a read!) 


	65. Fuzzy Side Means Tails

I'm going to be a farmer! Yup, that's my big news today. ^_^ No, seriously. I'm going to be a farmer. There's a really nifty historical farm in my city where the people who run it act out what it's like to be farmers in the 1880's, cooking, washing, sewing, farming, etc., even dressing up in period costumes, and they're always looking for volunteers. Volunteer work looks _really_ good on resumes, you know. So, that's what I'm doing this summer! Pretty cool, huh? No, scratch that... it's more likely to be _hot_ than cool, considering this _is_ summer in _Texas_ we're talking about here... Oh well, you get the point. 

After reading some stories by some truly great authors (non-DBZ stories, so I don't know if I'll advertise them), I've come to realize just how much room for improvement there is in my own stories. Frankly, it surprises me that so many of you are still reading this story. Still, I'm glad you all seem to like it so much! Thanks for being faithful readers and sticking with me this far! 

Disclaimer: She who claims to claim that which another claims shall hereby be claimed by legal complaints and forced to disclaim in loud disclaimer what she illegally claimed to claim. (But since I never claimed to own DBZ, and do not claim it now, please don't sue me.) 

**Wish For The Past**   
(Fuzzy Side Means Tails) 

Weighed down by these thoughts, Bardock followed Goku and Pilaf out of the room in silence, matching his pace to the slow steps his son was taking. He thought again on what the visions might mean, but it was a useless exercise. There was too much that he didn't know, that he couldn't even begin to guess! Were the visions somehow, impossibly, all part of the same future? Or were they two different futures? Two different outcomes weighing in the balance of one decision that had yet to be made? What was the decision? Were there only two possibilities, or was there some way to bypass them both and have the future that _he_ wanted? He didn't want his sons to die... but he also didn't want to leave Goku behind... 

_Why does life always have to be so difficult?_

Sighing heavily, the suddenly weary Saiyan stepped through the rubble of the fallen wall and into the room where they had left the others. And stopped, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. 

"Vegeta? What are you doing?" 

~*~ 

"We've been walking through this blasted fortress for nearly ten minutes!" Radditz shouted, frustration and unacknowledged anxiety creeping into his voice. Despite the fact that he could now sense both Bardock and Vegeta now, the teenager was still worried. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, or that something bad was about to happen. Where was Goku? Of course, his brother wasn't as strong as either Bardock or Vegeta, and since Radditz was still fairly new at sensing ki, he might have simply overlooked his brother... but then again, it might also be that Goku was injured... or dead. "We have that Dragon Radar thing, so we know where they are. Why can't we just punch through the walls until we get to them? It'd certainly save us a lot of time and trouble and I _don't_ feel like spending the rest of my _life_ wandering aimlessly through this maze!!" 

Bulma gave him a scornful look. "Do you _want_ to risk bringing this whole place crashing down around our ears? Who _knows_ what kind of machinery runs this place and where it's located! It's certainly not flying on it's _own_, you imbecile!" 

"Bulma's right," Trunks quickly interjected, cutting off the argument before it had a chance to descend into the petty bickering that had plagued their whole trip. _Honestly, they're almost as bad as my parents!_ He frowned. _Well, since one of them _is_ one of my parents..._ He shook the thought away. "Whatever's making this fortress fly, we don't want to risk damaging any of the equipment. Besides, there's no guarantee that the dragonballs are in the same place as the others. It's more likely that whoever stole them put them in a safe place far away from wherever he's keeping Vegeta, Bardock, and Goku." 

"Maybe one of us should go get the dragonballs while the rest of us look for grandpa an' Goku an' Vegeta?" Goten tentatively suggested. 

"I don't think splitting up is a very good idea, Goten," Bulma argued, one hand on her hip as she glanced down at the eight year old boy with a sympathetic look. It had to be hard on the poor kid to have both his father and his grandfather kidnapped right out from under their noses. "I mean, what would one person be able to do against someone who was able to kidnap _three_ Saiyans all at once? It's probably going to be hard enough with the four of us all together! We don't need to weaken our strength by dividing into two groups!" 

"You're forgetting one thing, Bulma," Trunks said. When the others turned to look at him, he smirked a little. "Goten and I are both Super Saiyans, remember? Either one of us is stronger than Goku, Bardock, and Vegeta _combined_. Maybe the kidnappers could take on three regular Saiyans, but they wouldn't stand a chance against us! Besides, they probably just caught the others off guard." 

Radditz opened his mouth to protest that the Prince of all Saiyans would never be so foolish as to lower his guard, but then he closed it again when he reminded himself that Vegeta was only ten years old. Prince or not, he was still a child. And as for his father... well, nobody was perfect, and it seemed to the teenager that his father had become awfully relaxed ever since he'd come to this planet. In fact, it was hard to tell that the man had once been a fierce warrior in command of one of Frieza's planet clearing squads. It certainly came as no surprise to Radditz that his father had managed to get himself and two others captured. 

_Not that you aren't much better,_ a little voice in the back of his head mocked. Radditz winced slightly in response. He had to admit, at least to himself, that he'd been just as bad as the others about throwing caution to the wind. As harmless as the inhabitants of this planet seemed, he should have known better than to _assume_ that there was no danger. It was _only_ one of the most basic lessons ever taught! _Never underestimate your opponent._

"Never underestimate your opponent," he murmured softly, echoing the thought out loud. And then he realized. Realized that that was exactly what they had been doing. "Goten's right," he spoke sharply, pulling everyone's attention away from Trunks. Seeing their looks of confusion, he elaborated. "We need to split up into two groups." 

"But-" 

An abrupt gesture from the young fighter cut Bulma off before she could voice her objection. "No buts." Radditz's eyes flashed with determination and authority. He might not have as much experience as his father, but he had been trained as a warrior to know what to do in a situation like this. "We don't know what we're up against here, so once we find the others, we don't know how quickly we'll need to make our escape. Nor can we assume we'll be able to fight our way out, no matter _how_ strong any of us are." He gave a pointed look at the two demi-Saiyans before continuing. "Anything that can take out three Saiyans is not to be taken lightly. Splitting into two groups would save time, and that in turn could very well save our lives." 

Annoyed at having been cut off, Bulma angrily tossed her hair over her shoulder and glared at Radditz. "If we're up against something that strong then we shouldn't split up in the first place! Dividing our strength would make it that much easier to capture us!" 

"Wrong," Radditz growled, using his height to his advantage so he could glower down at the blue haired girl. "Splitting up will give us a _better_ chance of getting out of this place in one piece. If we're in one group and we get caught, then there's no one else to come to our rescue. Having two groups means that even if one of them is captured, someone will still be out there to come to your aid. And like Trunks said, we have two Super Saiyans on our side. If Goten is in one group and Trunks in the other, that should be more than enough to handle any fights that either group might get into." 

Bulma hesitated for a moment. It just didn't seem like a good idea to her, but she really couldn't argue with the older boy's logic. Grudgingly admitting defeat, she threw her hands up in the air. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with and get out of here! The sooner we leave this place, the better." 

"Who's gonna go in what group?" Goten asked, fidgeting nervously. He wanted to be in the group that would rescue the others. He had a unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong. Something bad was going to happen if he wasn't there to prevent it. _Please don't let us get there too late,_ he silently prayed to Kami. 

After a moment's thought, his nine year old friend pointed at Bulma, Radditz, and Goten. "You three go look for the others. We don't know what condition they'll be in when you get there, so in case they're all wounded or unconscious or something, there'll be enough people to carry them out of the castle. I'll go look for the dragonballs on my own." 

"_What?!_" Bulma screeched. "You can't go off on your own! You're just a little boy! It's too dangerous!" 

Radditz snorted, muttering something under his breath about her being only two years older than Trunks. Bulma shot him a venomous glare. Trunks merely rolled his eyes. 

"Look, I'm probably the strongest person on the planet right now, certainly strong enough that I can take care of myself! You guys will have Goten with you, and he's almost as strong as me, so you'll be fine." 

"And what if you get captured?! What if you're _not_ the strongest? What if there's some... some _alien_ or something that's even stronger?! What if the people in this place have technology that could drain your energy?!" 

"Have you even bothered to look around you, Bulma?!" an annoyed Trunks shot back, gesturing to indicate the room they were currently in - a bedroom, by the looks of it. "If the people who run this place had stuff that advanced, don't you think there'd be some indication of that in their fortress? This place is hardly what I'd call state of the art, even for the current times! I mean, look!" Latching onto one of the gadgets sitting inconspicuously on a shelf, the purple haired Saiyan held it up for everyone to see. "They're even using old _hair curlers_ of all things!" He paused, frowning. _I don't think I even _want_ to know why someone in this flying rat trap has a bag of ancient hair curlers._

Radditz frowned as well. _What are hair curlers?_

"But what if you're _wrong,_ Trunks?!" the young scientist continued to argue passionately, sparing only a brief contemptuous look at the old fashioned beauty supplies lining the shelf where Trunks had gotten the curlers. Anyone who would use _those_ things on their face and hair was either insane or hadn't been to a beauty shop in at least a decade. "Besides, hair curlers are _hardly_ a good indication of the level of technology these people are using!" 

A scowl of irritation was beginning to form on Trunks's face. The way Bulma was protesting, it was almost as if she somehow knew on some level that he was her future son, not just another kid who happened to be a little younger than her. She was certainly fighting this as strongly as _his_ mother would! _Well, maybe not _that_ strongly,_ he silently amended, reminding himself that his mother probably wouldn't have even allowed him to argue at all in the first place. 

"It was just an _example_!" he shouted in exasperation, not particularly caring at the moment who heard him. It's not like they'd been making an effort to conceal their presence here. "_Everything_ in this flying bucket of bolts is ancient! The lights, the fans, the computers, the-" 

"Okay, I get the point! But that doesn't mean that they _don't_ have anything more advanced! They could have stolen something for all you know!" 

"There isn't-" 

"Could we stop arguing about this and actually _do_ something before the people we're trying to rescue die of _old age?!"_ Radditz broke into their heated debate, lashing his tail once in a sharp gesture to emphasize his ire. Seeing that he had their attention, the wild maned teen calmly coiled his tail back around his waist, purposefully underscoring his view of the situation. Of course, the implications of the "battle ready" position of his tail were lost upon his companions, since none of them had been raised on Vegeta-sei. "We're on a mission, not a picnic! If you can't make a quick decision on your own, grab stones or something!" 

"Grab stones?" all three echoed in unison, exchanging confused looks. 

A long suffering sigh escaped the Saiyan teen's lips. "Yes. You know... each person grab a stone with your eyes closed and whoever has the biggest stone gets to choose." _I thought everyone knew about grabbing stones!_

Goten's face lit up with comprehension. "Sorta like Rock, Paper, Scissors!" 

Now it was Radditz's turn to be confused. "Rock, paper, what?" 

"Never mind," Trunks cut in, shaking his head. "We don't have time for an explanation. And we don't have stones, either, so we can't do that." 

"We could always flip a coin," Goten suggested, digging his hands through his pockets in search of just such an object. Trunks and Bulma did likewise, while Radditz watched, brow wrinkled in puzzlement. _What's a "coin" and why would someone want to flip it?_ Even after shopping with Bulma, he had no notion of Earth currency - Bulma had paid for all of their purchases with credit cards. 

A few moments passed before anyone spoke. 

"I don't have any coins on me," Trunks grumbled. 

"I only have credit cards," Bulma said, shrugged. "I don't normally carry regular money. Cash is only good for small purchases, because it's too bulky for anything really expensive. Credit cards don't weigh as much and take up less room." 

"All I've got is some moldy candy," lamented Goten, holding out the small, disc-like object in his hand. One side was completely fuzzed over with green mold. 

"Eeww, Goten, that's gross!" A strange look crossed Trunks's face as he peered at first the candy, then his friend. "Goten? Why exactly _do_ you have that in your pocket?" He cautiously prodded the thing in Goten's hand, almost as though afraid it was alive. Well, considering that it had come from _Goten's_ pocket, that wasn't all that unlikely. "That's gotta be at _least_ a few weeks old!" Frowning suspiciously, he caught the younger boy's eye. "Have you been carrying it around in your pocket all this time?" 

"Errr..." Goten looked sheepish. "Maybe...." The truth of the matter was that he'd had that piece of candy since before he came to the past. He _had_ been intending to eat it at some point, but then had gotten so caught up in other things that he'd completely forgotten that it was there, beyond making sure to transfer it from pocket to pocket each time he changed clothes. Now there was no way he'd _ever_ put that thing in his mouth! There were just some things that not even _he_ was willing to eat. It was too bad, though. Goten hated letting good candy go to waste. "It sorta looks like a coin... Maybe we could flip it?" he suggested tentatively, hoping that maybe some good would come out of the moldy sweet. 

Trunks wrinkled his nose, then shrugged. "I guess that'd work. Clean side is heads, fuzzy side means tails. You wanna call it?" He directed the question at his eleven year old mother. 

"Only if someone else flips it!" Bulma was clearly disgusted by the state of the candy, edging away from Goten's hand to put extra distance between herself and the offensive object. 

"I'll do it!" Goten shouted enthusiastically. Radditz, bewildered as to what was going on, watched as the boy deftly flipped the candy into the air. 

"Tails!" The blue haired girl held her breath and tracked the path of the "coin" through the air. It hit the floor with a faint _tmp_, bounced a couple times, then finally settled firmly onto one side. 

Fuzzy side down. 

"I win!" crowed Trunks, looking positively smug. Hey, it wasn't every day that you better of Bulma Briefs! Especially when you're her son! 

Glowering darkly, Bulma crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, fine! You win! But you better be careful, Trunks, or I swear I'll-" Though she couldn't find a threat that suited her, the scowl on her face more than adequately completed the sentence. 

"Relax, m-err, Bulma." The younger boy gestured placatingly, hoping that no one had caught his slip. He was so used to trying to get his mother to calm down that the protest was almost habitual... _including_ the word "mom." Thankfully, though, it didn't appear that anyone had noticed. "If anything happens to me, Goten and Radditz both know how to sense ki. If I'm in trouble, I can just raise it really high, and they'll know I need help. Same goes for you guys." Pulling out his Dragon Radar, Trunks tapped the button lightly to turn it on. Satisfied that it was working properly, he looked back up at the others. "We'll meet outside this place when we're done. That way we don't have to try to find each other in this maze again." 

The other three nodded in agreement - a sulky nod in Bulma's case - then split up, Trunks following the direction arrows on the radar, Goten leading the others to where he could sense his grandfather, Goku, and Vegeta. 

~*~ 

Vegeta _had_ been about to fry the annoying woman and dog-like creature for their crime of _trying_ (note the emphasis on the word 'trying') to kill him, the Prince of all Saiyans. However, just before he let the ki blast loose, Bardock and Goku had walked into the room, the younger Saiyan supporting a rather battered looking Pilaf. The oddity of this situation was enough to distract Vegeta from what he was doing. 

"I was going to kill them," he answered Bardock's question with a shrug, the ball of energy in his hand forgotten. Frowning, he watched as Kakarot helped Pilaf walk over to his two cronies, who were watching the whole scene with slightly dumbfounded expressions on their faces. _What does he think he's doing?_

At Vegeta's statement Goku whipped his head around to stare at the other boy with shocked disbelief. "What?! B-but Vegeta! You can't!" 

"Why not?" Vegeta demanded, jutting his chin out in a defiant manner. _What could he possibly want to keep those three idiots alive for?_

Setting Pilaf on the ground in front of the bewildered Mai and Shao, Goku turned around to face Vegeta, gesturing wildly. "You can't kill them! They didn't actually _do_ anything to us! Well, besides kidnapping us, anyway," he added almost as an afterthought. 

"They did _too_ do something!" the young prince protested. He lifted his free hand and jabbed sharply in Mai's direction, glaring furiously. "That woman tried to kill me!" A hand on Vegeta's shoulder cut off anything else he might have added. Startled, he twisted around to look up at Bardock. 

"Let's just go, Vegeta," Bardock said softly, face expressionless. 

Vegeta couldn't believe what he just heard. "And let them _live?!"_ he shouted incredulously. "Didn't you hear what I said?! The woman tried to _kill_ me! And the other two certainly _wanted_ to do the same! I can't just let them go unpunished!!" In a burst of anger, Vegeta hurled the ball of energy in his hand at the floor with a snarl. "They _deserve_ to die!" 

"Vegeta-!" 

_BOOM!_

The whole fortress shuddered with the force of the explosion, causing everyone to stumble where they stood. Bardock's attention shifted from the angry prince to the gaping hole in the floor where his ki blast had hit, and a look of horrified realization swept across his face. 

"SHIT!" 

~*~ 

I don't really have much to say about this chapter. *shrugs* It turned out a little differently than I planned, but, then, that's true with most of my chapters. *wry smile* 

BabyTeeth: The future timeline remains unaffected by the things that happen in the past because they're actually alternate realities. In fact, the past timeline should really be classified as an alternate universe because things happened differently than in the canon timeline. Anyway, alternate realities have already been confirmed to exist in the DBZ world. Remember how Mirai Trunks came back in time, changed history, then returned to his own _unaffected_ timeline? He explains that he couldn't save his own timeline, but that it was still worth it if he could save another timeline. All he was able to do was create an alternate timeline. Same theory applies to what's going on in this story. Hope that clears things up. 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Second Chances," by Mia Skywalker, storyid 1373519. Told from Celipa's point of view, this story tells the tale of Bardock's famous team, why it was formed, how its members were chosen, and the love that developed between two team mates: Toma and Celipa. (I really enjoyed the author's take on various aspects of Bardock's team and Saiyan society in general. It's well written, it's very realistic, and, yes, it has Bardock in it! Go read it!) 

"Inbetween Seven Years," by Kioko, storyid 1328694. In the August following the Cell Games, Gohan gets a visit from a strange man, and his life changes yet again when he finds out that, on top of everything else, he is a wizard! Yes, it's a Harry Potter/Dragonball Z crossover! (I usually avoid crossovers like the plague because they're extremely difficult to write well, and most authors who try fail miserably. However, Kioko has gotten off to a really good start, and her story makes me feel that there may yet be hope for the realm of crossovers.) 


	66. We All Fall Down AND OMAKE

*blinks in awe* Hey, there's still people reading this story! Amazing! Thanks for sticking with me this far, and thank you all for your wonderful reviews! 

I'm no longer working as a volunteer at the historical farm. Unfortunately, school's started up again and I'm taking three college classes now. English Composition, Design 1, and Basic Graphic Design. They keep me so busy that weekends are really the only time I have enough free time to do any writing. That means slow updates. Sorry folks! 

Bardock: Of course, they should already be used to slow updates from you, you lazy author. 

Brenda: Waah! It's true! Gomen nasai, mina-san! To make it up to you all, I'm not only giving you the regular chapter, I also wrote a special omake scene at the bottom. 

Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will, but ooooh how I wish I did. 

**Wish For The Past**   
(We All Fall Down) 

An angry crackle of torn and melted circuitry poured out of the gaping crater that Vegeta's ki blast had created in the floor. Hissing steam burst out of the naked pipes, lit up periodically by arcs of electricity jumping from one live wire to another, and the awful stench of burnt insulation filled the air. 

_Boom! BoomboomBOOM!_

Four more explosions rocked the floating castle, the first three more muffled and distant than the last. _A chain reaction,_ Bardock swore silently. _Whatever it is that Vegeta hit, it's caused an overload in all the other systems in this place! This whole building could explode!_ Covering his nose and mouth with his shirt to protect his lungs from the smoke and whatever chemicals that might be poisoning the air, the adult Saiyan shouted, "We've gotta get out of here!" Keeping the cloth firmly in place with one hand, he used his other arm to scoop Goku up, knowing that the little boy's legs weren't long enough to keep up with his if he broke into a run. "Vegeta, forget about punishing them and just get out of here before this place collapses on our heads!" 

"Waaahhh!! My castle!!" Pilaf's annoying voice screeched from somewhere in the ever-thickening cloud of fumes. The imp coughed a few times, then continued his wailing. "That stupid monkey's ruined my ca-aaahhh!" 

What happened next would almost have been amusing, if it didn't hold such dire implications. Another explosion shook the entire fortress, and suddenly a sense of weightlessness overtook all six of them, and at first glance it appeared that they had all started floating. Pilaf, Mai, and Shao all waved their arms and legs wildly and yelled in alarm. The three Saiyans, much more used to experiencing flight, dealt with it more calmly... until Bardock realized exactly what was going on. They were in free fall. They weren't in some building firmly embedded in the ground, they were in a flying piece of architecture - which had suddenly become a falling death trap. 

"Sire, we're going to crash into the ground!" the black haired woman shouted in an unintentional confirmation of Bardock's fears. Reaching out to snag one of the manacles hanging from the wall to stop herself from floating any higher, she extended an arm and snagged the small blue emperor by the back of his shirt. Behind her, the dog-like man followed suit. "Come on, we need to get to the escape copter!" 

"Baka." Vegeta floated casually over to Bardock's side, smirking slightly at the older man. "We're not in any danger. We can just fly right out of here, in case you'd forgotten!" 

"No, I _hadn't_ forgotten, Vegeta," Bardock snapped, a little harsher than he had intended. "But in case you hadn't noticed, you just fried a bunch of machinery, and machinery often means chemicals and coolants. Not all of that smoke is harmless gasses, and I for one don't want to have my lungs poisoned! The longer we're in this place, the more likely that is. Now, I want you and Goku to cover your mouths and noses with your shirts and follow me." Using his ki to stabilize his free fall into controlled flight, the spiky haired warrior flew through the fog filled air straight for the door. "Besides, I don't think any of us want to be in this place when it hits the ground!" 

Looking properly chastised, the ten year old prince admitted grudgingly, "I didn't think about that...." 

"What about Pilaf and the others?" Goku asked through the cloth of his shirt, having pulled it up to cover his face like his father had told him to. 

Bardock glanced down at his son, then back to where the three villains were... walking on the wall? _What the hell?!_ Squinting his eyes to peer through the clouds of smoke, he looked more closely at the trio's feet. Well, more accurately, Mai's and Shao's feet, since the two were supporting the weight of their crippled leader. The trench coat clad woman took another step, heading in the direction of the ground, and suddenly Bardock saw that she had strapped some kind of suction cups on her feet, as had the dog-man. _Where in the name of all that is sane did they pull those from and why would they just happen to be carrying them??_ Bardock shook his head. "They appear to have things under control, Goku." 

"Can we _stop_ being concerned with the idiots that kidnapped us in the first place and just _go?_" With one hand holding his shirt to his nose and the other one gesturing impatiently toward the door, Vegeta somehow gave the impression of tapping his foot irritably while floating in the air. 

Adjusting his one handed grip on his son to something more firm and stable, Bardock nodded wordlessly to the young prince even as he flew over to his side. Goku glanced back at Pilaf, Mai, and Shao and seemed satisfied by the progress they had made, because he didn't raise a second protest. Together, the three Saiyans carefully maneuvered themselves out of the room, avoiding the major clouds of gas and steam, and set off down the corridor in search of the exit. 

The only problem with this plan of action, however, was that none of them knew the way out. Still carrying his son with one arm, Bardock sped through the halls with Vegeta not far behind, going as fast as they could manage without running into walls whenever they tried to turn corners. No words were exchanged, except when Bardock barked out a direction at each intersection they came to. Bardock wondered how high up in the air was, that it hadn't hit the ground yet even after falling for what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few minutes. _Perhaps some of the devices that enable this place to fly are still working and are slowing our decent...._ And still there was no sign of an exit anywhere! The three rounded another corner... 

...and crashed right into another group of people. 

"Oof!" 

"Aaahh!! You great big hedgehog, I told you to slow down before going around corners!" 

"Hedgehog?" 

"Kuso!!" 

"Grandpa!" 

Blinking in surprise, it took a moment for Bardock to take the scene in. There was Bulma and Radditz, the former clinging to the back of the latter, who was floating in the air and rubbing his nose where he had impacted with Vegeta's head. The prince was clutching his own head while throwing the older boy an evil glare, muttering dark imprecations that Bardock was just as glad that he couldn't hear. And finally there was Goten, who had been the one to crash into Bardock's chest and now had his arms around the older man's neck in an enthusiastic hug. 

Too enthusiastic. "Erk. Goten... can't... breathe...." Bardock gasped. 

"Oops... sorry, grandpa," apologized Goten sheepishly as he loosened his grip around Bardock's neck. "I was just so worried! Me an' Trunks an' Bulma came back from shopping and everyone was gone but Radditz and he'd been knocked out and I couldn't sense your ki or Vegeta's or Goku's!!" Pausing the rush of words to take a breath, the eight year old boy gasped, "We thought you'd been kidnapped and we came to rescue you!" 

"A little too late, you bakas," Vegeta remarked smugly. "But, then, we hardly needed rescuing in the first place. After all, I _am_ the Saiya-jin no Ouji. I can take care of myself very well!" 

"So well, in fact, that now we have to get the hell out of here before we're buried alive when this place collides with the ground," Bardock cut in dryly. "We don't have time to stand around here talking! Let's move!" 

Knowing better than to argue with a good idea, the group of four Saiyans, one demi-Saiyan, and one human flew back the way Bulma, Goten, and Radditz had come from. Goten had detached himself from Bardock's neck and was now flying alongside his father and grandfather, and Bulma still clung tenaciously to Radditz's back. 

"Don't worry, Goten," Goku was saying consolingly. "It's the thought that counts. I'm glad you an' Bulma an' niisan came to rescue us, even if we didn't need it. See, this way it's easier to find the way out, 'cause you guys already found the way in!" 

Radditz glanced over at his brother and his nephew. "You know, if this place is going to be destroyed when it hits the ground anyway, and we're only trying to escape now, why can't we just blast our way out?" Almost as though he could sense Bulma forming a protest, he added, "And don't tell me we have to be careful of the machinery that's keeping this place floating! For all you know, we could be mere moments away from the ground. Every second counts, and I for one don't want to risk being in here when this place crashes!" 

"You men," Bulma huffed. "That's your answer to everything, isn't it! Just blow anything up that gets in your way!" 

"Radditz has a point, Bulma," Bardock swiftly cut in before his son and the blue haired girl could get into another fight. "Time is of the essence. Goten." 

"Yes, grandpa?" 

"Can you blast a hole all the way outside?" 

The little boy nodded wordlessly and, hovering in the air, turned to face the wall he guessed was the closest to the outside world. Checking to make sure no one was too close to either him or his intended target, Goten flared into his Super Saiyan form, complete with the gold hair, teal eyes, and shining yellow aura. "Kaaa.... meee.... haaa.... meee..." With each syllable of the attack's name, he shifted his stance to accommodate the bright energy gathering between the palms of his hands, until at last he must have felt that there was enough energy to clear a path through the walls, machinery, and whatever all else might lie between them and freedom. "HAAA!!!" Blinding light filled the hall for a few seconds, then faded away to reveal a gaping hole easily wide enough for all six of them to pass through together. The new "passage way" extended about ten meters before opening up into empty air. 

"That's perfect, Goten, thank you. All right, everyone, let's get out of here!" Flying through the newly made hole, Bardock led the group in their flight to safety. It didn't occur to him until after they were well outside of the falling fortress to wonder where Trunks was and why he wasn't with Goten, Bulma, and Radditz. 

~*~ 

"Ah hah! Found 'em!" Trunks crowed triumphantly. Nestled safely in a pink cushioned box were four orange, almost seeming to glow with a strange inner light - the four star, the six star, the one star, and the two star dragonballs. All three of the dragonballs that had been stolen from them plus one other that the kidnappers must have found on their own, or stolen from someone else. It had been almost ridiculously easy to find them. The dragon radar had led the purple haired chibi straight to the room where they were kept in, a room that reminded Trunks of one of those throne rooms where royal people sit around and give orders. It hadn't taken long to notice the rather large and conspicuous safe set in one of the walls, and although Trunks didn't know the combination to open it, the door hadn't stood a chance against his super strength! Said door was now lying on the ground, torn from its hinges and completely beyond repair. 

"Man, this is too easy!" he gloated to himself even as he put the lid back on the box the dragonballs were in and picked it up. "Whoever stole our dragonballs obviously didn't know what he was up against! I bet Goten's already found my dad, his grandpa, and his father and they're already on their way out. Well, looks like I'm done here!" Tucking the box under one arm, the nine year old Saiyan left the room and started retracing his steps back to where they had come into the fortress. He'd find a nice shady spot under a tree somewhere nearby and wait for the others to meet him there as they'd agreed. 

Growing up in Capsule Corporation, a large and confusing building with a complex system of halls and stairs, Trunks had learned early on how to keep from getting lost in such a maze. If he had been somewhere once, he could almost always trace his footsteps back to it later. Of course, the larger the area or the more time had passed, the harder it was for him to accomplish this, but in this case the skill served him well and it only took Trunks a few minutes to get back outside the fortress. He had just found a comfortable spot underneath some kind of tree he couldn't identify, setting the box with the dragonballs down next to him, when he just happened to glance back up at the flying fortress. 

Or, rather, the _falling_ fortress. 

"What the hell?!" he yelped, staring at the spectacle with wide eyes. He couldn't tell how long it had been falling - obviously sometime after he had gotten out of the place, because he would have noticed if it started falling while he was still inside! - but it looked to be only a matter of seconds before it impacted with the ground. "Aaahh!! Goten's still in there!!" Jumping to his feet, the young boy had every intention of racing back to the fortress to rescue his friends and family... 

...but it was too late. With a resounding _boom_ that rumbled through the air for miles around, the fortress crashed into the ground and exploded in a huge ball of flame, dust, and debris. 

An anguished scream tore itself from Trunks's throat, irrational grief overwhelming his mind and triggering his Super Saiyan transformation. "NOOOOO!!!! Mom! Dad! GOTEN!!!" Falling to his knees, the now-blond child wept bitter tears of- 

"Hey, Trunks, why'd you go Super? Did you run into a monster before we got here? No fair! I didn't even get a chance to fight!" 

Hardly daring to believe his ears, Trunks whipped his head around. And there was Goten, grinning the same, cheerful grin that he always wore, and standing behind him were Bardock, Goku, Vegeta, Bulma, and Radditz, all completely unharmed without a single scratch anywhere. 

**OMAKE!**

_(AN: As far as the story is concerned, this scene never happened. There will be no references to it in future chapters or stories. It is simply for your enjoyment.)_

"I see you three are finally awake," the little gremlin sneered, strutting back and forth in front of his prisoners. "Did you have a   
nice sleep? Yes, I suppose you did. The Thing has that kind of effect on people, you know." Smirking broadly, he snickered   
and stopped pacing when he returned to the center of the room, facing the captive trio once again. Puffing his chest up   
self-importantly, he announced, "As you probably know, I am the great Emperor Pilaf, and-" 

"Hey, I remember you!" Goku interrupted him, pointing at the half-pint villain. "You're the guy who stole the dragonballs last time I was gathering them! You tried to bake me an' my friends in a giant oven!"   
  
"Hey, now, that's not such a bad idea," Pilaf mused, rubbing his non-existent chin thoughtfully. "Monkey-boy cake!" 

"Who the hell are you calling a cake?!" Vegeta snapped. 

"Mmm... cake..." Goku drooled. A loud rumble filled the air, eliciting a sheepish look from the seven year old boy. "Oops. Hehe, sorry 'bout that. Guess I'm kinda hungry. Can I have some cake?" 

"You little idiot, there isn't any cake! I'm going to turn you and your two friends _into_ cake!" Pilaf screamed furiously. 

"Who're you calling little, shorty?" Goku shot back, disappointed by the news that there wasn't any cake. His stomach gurgled plaintively. "Are you sure you don't have any cake?" 

"I don't know about cake," Bardock commented, eyeing Pilaf with amusement, "but I think he looks a lot like a cream puff. A little on the doughy side, though. Obviously only half-baked." Cracking his knuckles with an evil smirk, the Saiyan warrior glanced at his son and Vegeta. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"   
  
Vegeta grinned up at his mentor. "If it involves roasting the little shrimp until he's "well done", then, yes, I think I _am_ thinking what you're thinking!" 

This was just too much for Pilaf. "Wait just a minute, you three! You've got your roles all mixed up! _I'm_ the jailer and _you're_ my prisoners! I'm supposed to be thinking up ways to torture you, not the other way around!" 

Bardock, Goku, and Vegeta all glanced at each other, then shrugged and ripped off the manacles that chained them to the wall as easily as tearing paper. "I guess we're not your prisoners anymore," Bardock chortled, enjoying the look of shocked horror on the blue midget's face. 

"Grandpa!" a young voice yelled happily from the doorway. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the speaker, who turned out to be none other than Son Goten. "I'm here to rescue you!" 

As soon as he caught sight of Goten, Pilaf's eyes bugged out of his head, flicking back and forth between the boy in the door and the boy who had formerly been chained to a wall. "AAAAHHH!!! THERE'S TWO OF HIM!!!" And on that melodramatic note, the poor Emperor Pilaf fainted dead away. 

The four Saiyans eyed the fallen villain warily, then the three boys all turned to Bardock. "Hey, don't look at me!" he exclaimed, backing up nervously. "There's no _way_ I'm paying for his therapy bills!" 

~~**~~ 

Hey, look! No cliff hangers! *gasps* Shocking, isn't it! 

Well, we're past the climax of the story! All that's left is the resolution, which I figure will take about two more chapters, then the story's over! The omake was fun to write. It's mostly a collection of ideas and possibilities I had considered using in this and other chapters, but had to discard for one reason or another. Some were too silly, some didn't take the story in the direction I wanted it to go in, and others disrupted the flow of the chapter they would have been used in. All strung together, I hope they made an entertaining scene. ^_^ 

Now, I know that some of you are wondering: "What happened to Pilaf, Mai, and Shao?" Did they escape the fortress before it crashed? Did Pilaf die from internal injuries? Did Mai and Shao abandon Pilaf so they could save their own skins? I'm not going to answer any of these questions. For now, I'm leaving it up to the reader's imagination to decide what happened to our three pseudo-bad guys. Just don't expect to see them again any time soon, if ever. *grins* 

Once again, thanks for reading! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Long lost brothers" by Dark-Sephy, storyid 1260516. When a teenage Raditz returns from a mission, only to find that his home is gone and no trace of any of his race, he goes in search of his little brother, Kakarot. Will they and a certain Saiya-jin no Ouji be able to avenge their people? (This is another very good story which I highly recommend. It even has chibi Goku and teenage Radditz! Go read!) 


	67. The Consequences of Our Actions

Got nothing to say. Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: D is for the disclaimer which you can plainly see. B is for Burenda, who is writing this story. Z is for Zz, that is my lack of sleep. Now, all together, this tells you I don't own DBZ! 

**Wish For The Past**   
(The Consequences of Our Actions) 

Later that night, after everyone else had gone to bed, Bardock lay on top of his blankets and stare pensively out the window at the stars twinkling innocently in the black velvet sky. The open window allowed a cool breeze to flow into the room, gently caressing his cheeks, but it didn't soothe him as he'd hoped it would. His mind was too preoccupied with the events of the day to allow him to sleep. 

After they'd found Trunks, who, fortunately, had already escaped the castle before it crashed, they'd flown a little ways away from the crater it had created and popped open the capsule house. It had been something of a shock to walk inside and find everything ransacked, courtesy of Pilaf and his two goons, but Bardock had quickly recovered and started issuing orders to the children. He didn't actually do any cleaning himself, though. The sun was setting and everyone was hungry, so while they were picking up the mess, Bardock had made dinner using some of Bulma newly bought food. That in itself had been an interesting process, given his Saiyan tastes and how little he knew about Earth foods and herbs. The little blue haired onna had had a fit when he tried to serve them raw "pork". What was wrong with eating meat raw? But Bulma had been adamant and in the end he had had to cook the meat thoroughly. 

None of this, however, was what was keeping him awake. His thoughts kept drifting to the two visions he'd had just before he woke up in Pilaf's dungeon. Two visions, back to back, but showing contradictory scenes. If one happened, the other could not, but if the other happened, the first was impossible. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that they could not be visions of the same future. They'd both started at the same point in time, then diverged, the outcomes hinging on one single factor. 

The wish. 

Mulling over the two visions in his mind, Bardock rolled over onto his stomach and rested his chin on the heel of his hand. _In one vision I stayed here on Earth when Goten and Trunks made the wish to go back home. That was the vision that showed me the death of my two sons. But the other vision showed me going _with_ Goten and Trunks. In that vision Goku grew up and had children. Does that mean that if I stay here in this timeline something bad will happen to create that darker future?_ Bardock's thoughts turned slightly bitter._ So if I don't stay, it never happens, and everyone lives oh so happily ever after? Stay with my son and lose him or leave my son and lose him anyway? Are those my only options?!_

Why? Why did it matter so much if he stayed in this timeline? He wasn't anyone important, just a low level Saiyan with a higher than average power level. No one back on Vegeta-sei would miss him if he was never seen or heard from again. Granted, he probably had a bounty on his head for kidnapping the prince, but couldn't he just stay here on Earth, with Goku, and pretend he'd died? 

"That's it!" he spoke out loud without thinking, struck by sudden realization. "It's the price on my head that's the cause of all this. Somehow, someone will track me down here and murder my sons, then probably execute me. If I stay here, I'm endangering Goku and Radditz! _Damn it!_" Letting loose a few colorful curses, the Saiyan warrior slid out of bed and started pacing, thoughts racing furiously. _How do I get around this? I don't know how long it will take for them to find me. Not too long, judging by how old Goku and Radditz looked in the vision. Do I _have_ to go to the future with Goten and Trunks? What if I took Trunks's space ship and went off world for a while until it was safe to come back? Radditz could stay with his brother while I led the... uh... whoever's after me... off in a different direction. That way if I get caught, they'll both still be safe._

_But I'll still be abandoning them._ The thought brought a wave of despair crashing down on him, causing him to sink listlessly down onto the bed. Tail hanging limply over the edge of the bed, his gaze once again turned to moodily contemplate the three quarters full moon that could be seen through the open window. _Of course, there's a chance that I wouldn't get caught, that I could come back to live with them once this all died down... but I don't know how long that would take. Or if it would ever happen._ Still, at least with that plan there was some hope that he would see he son again. Except... 

Except that it would never be safe for him to come back. 

Not with a tracking device buried in his skull. 

Bardock raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck, one finger resting lightly on the place where he knew a tiny scar could be seen. Bitterly cursing himself for a fool, he grabbed a pillow and hurled it across the room. "Damn it!" he half-shouted, angry but not wanting to wake anyone else up. _Why did I have to join the kami-damned military?!_

"Tousan?" Goku's tentative voice called out from the doorway where he stood in his oversized T-shirt, hanging onto the knob as though uncertain as to whether he was going to come in or shut the door again. 

Distracted from his frustrated musings, the restless Saiyan glanced at his son. "What is it, Goku?" 

Letting go of the door knob, the seven year old boy padded over to his father and climbed up onto the bed. "I had a bad dream," he stated matter-of-factly. He looked up at Bardock and hurried to explain. "Not tonight, though. I had it earlier, but I just can't quit thinkin' about it. I'm not afraid or nothin', 'cause I know it's not real, but I... I just can't sleep," he finished lamely, a hint of pleading in his voice. 

_You and me both,_ Bardock thought wryly, though he kept that thought to himself. Children seeking comfort didn't usually want to hear about other people's problems. Instead, he pulled the unresisting Goku into his lap and gently stroked the child's tail. "Well, why don't you tell me what the dream was about?" he suggested. 

Cuddling up into a more comfortable position, Goku leaned his head against his father's chest and nodded. "M'kay," he murmured, the soothing tail petting making him a little drowsy. "It was kinda confusing, 'cause in the middle of the dream it started over, but went a diff'rent way than the first time." He paused for a small yawn, then continued. "In the first half, after Goten an' Trunks went home, I saw me an' Radditz die, which was weird and scary 'cause even though I was dead - that was the scary part - I could still see things happening - that was the weird part. And you were there, too, I think. I'm not sure. I didn't actually see you, but it _felt_ like you were there, 'cept you couldn't move. Then it started over, but this time you went _with_ Goten and Trunks." Flicking his dark black eyes up to meet Bardock's, he added in a slightly hurt tone of voice, "Without _me_." 

As though a light had turned on in his head, Bardock suddenly knew exactly why Goku couldn't sleep. He wanted reassurance that his father wouldn't abandon him again. The boy had grown used to having family and now he didn't want to lose it, even in a supposed "dream". Unable to meet his son's eyes, Bardock looked away. He had, after all, been contemplating that very possibility before Goku came into the room. 

_But it would have been for _his_ sake, not mine,_ he silently defended. 

_Doesn't matter,_ a voice in his head responded. _To a child, abandonment is abandonment._

"And then," Goku went on, oblivious to his father's inner turmoil, "I saw myself-" 

"Only you were older?" the elder Saiyan cut in. He was fairly certain that the dream Goku was describing was the same set of visions Bardock had had earlier, but he wanted to be sure. "And you were with a woman with black hair and a baby with a tail?" 

The black haired chibi's eyes widened dramatically. "How did you know?!" 

"Because it wasn't a dream, Goku," Bardock began, then stopped, uncertain how to continue. Shaking his head in a futile effort to clear some of the turmoil away, he allowed his gaze to meet his son's again, trying to convey with his eyes just how serious he was. "Do you remember how I told you I could sometimes see the future?" Curious as to what his father was getting at, Goku nodded. "That dream was actually one of my visions. Or, rather, two of them that happened one right after the other." 

"You mean I can see the future too?!" his son gasped, shocked. 

Frowning pensively, Bardock shook his head. "I don't know, Goku, but I don't think that's the case. Do you remember when you and Goten both had the same nightmare about you and Radditz dying and Vegeta doing something to hurt me?" The boy nodded again. "That was another one of my visions. I'm... not certain, but I think that, somehow, I'm broadcasting my visions to you boys. Radditz doesn't seem to be having the same problem, or if he is, he isn't telling me about it. Same with Trunks and Vegeta. I can't figure out why only you and Goten can see my visions, unless it has something to do with both your age and your blood relation to me." 

The young Saiyan twisted his head up to peer at his father in confusion. "Why would my age make any difference?" 

Bardock raised an eyebrow, then reminded himself that Goku hadn't been raised by Saiyans so might not know his race's inherent talents. "Saiyans have a weak telepathic ability. It's strongest among those who are blood related or have bonded to their mate. Children's minds are too immature to have any kind of control over their telepathic skills, but they can still receive messages or mental impressions from their parents. As they grow older, however, their minds develop a natural protection against mental invasion, so telepathic contact isn't as direct - like the difference between talking to someone face to face and talking to someone through a door." 

If anything, Goku looked more puzzled than before. "Uhh..." 

Bardock sighed and shook his head. "It'll be easier to understand when you're older. Just take my word for it that it's easier for you and Goten to pick up on my visions than it would be for Radditz because he's too old and you're not." 

The seven year old scratched his head and thought about that for a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, tousan." Pausing to yawn, Goku rubbed his eyes and struggled to remain awake enough to continue the conversation. "So what does that vision stuff mean? Am I really," he yawned again, "gonna die?" 

_Not if I can help it,_ Bardock firmly vowed to himself. "I don't know, Goku. I was thinking about them before you came in here and the idea came to me that maybe those two visions are based on different possible futures. One will happen if I do one thing, but the other will happen if I do something else." Sensing that his son was on the verge of falling asleep, he stopped petting the child's tail. He wanted Goku's opinion on this before the boy nodded off so he wouldn't have to explain everything all over again. "Do you understand?" 

"Hai," Goku murmured, looking a little more awake now that the soothing petting had stopped. "Do you know what you have to do?" he asked curiously. 

This was it. He knew he had to tell Goku what he had realized, but he dreaded seeing the look on his son's face when he explained the what the "best" decision would be. Swallowing a hard lump in his throat, Bardock took a steadying breath. "I think that I have to go to the future with Goten and Trunks if I want to prevent the deaths of you and your brother," he said, anxiously watching Goku's face for a reaction. He wasn't disappointed. 

"But _why?!_" Goku cried out in protest, fully awake now. He jumped to his feet so that he was standing on the bed eye-to-eye with Bardock, black eyes filled with bewildered disbelief and shock at his father's statement. "Why do you have to leave?! I don't understand! I don't _want_ you to leave, tousan!" 

"Goku! Goku, calm down!" Bardock pleaded, taking his son by the shoulders. The boy trembled under his father's hands, tears welling up in his eyes that he made no effort to blink back. The older Saiyan winced slightly at the sight of those tears, knowing they were his fault, but plowed on determinedly. "Goku, please understand. I don't want to leave, either, but I _can't_ stay!" 

"Why not?!" 

"Because you'll die if I stay-" Bardock began, but was cut off. 

"That's not what I mean, dad!" Goku said hotly, the hurt in his voice mixed with anger now, anger at this seeming betrayal. "I want to know _why_ I'll die if you stay! What makes you think it's _because_ you stay that I'll die?!" 

"If you'd give me a chance to explain, I would!" snapped Bardock, his patience wearing thin. The stress of the situation, from the seeing the visions to having to confront his youngest son, was starting to get to him, so he was having a hard time dealing with both his own emotions and the emotions of a six year old child. Kami knows he made a mess of things when Radditz was that age. Seeing Goku's eyes widen at being yelled at, Bardock relented somewhat. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just... have a lot on my mind right now." Goku nodded, but didn't say anything, neither condemnation nor forgiveness, although his eyes still demanded an answer to his question. With an exasperated sigh, the elder Saiyan bowed his head and parted the hair at the nape of his neck. "Do you see that scar, Goku?" 

Puzzled, the chibi leaned forward to peer at the spot where his father's fingers rested. "Yeah... What about it? How did you get it?" 

Straightening back up, Bardock rubbed his neck again. "Back on Vegeta-sei, when you join the military, they embed a microchip in your skull that serves as a tracking device so that, no matter where you go, if you're lost or injured someone can find you. It also makes sure that no one tries to desert. But that's how we're going to be found." He exhaled loudly in frustration, flopping back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "I broke the law, Goku. Not only did I desert, I kidnapped the Prince of all Saiyans." Turning his head so he could look his son in the eye, he asked, "Do you know how serious that is?" Goku shook his head. "It's punishable by death, that's how serious." 

"Oh." Now it was Goku's turn to be somber as he pondered the full implications of this. Sitting down cross-legged on the bed, he turned pleading eyes on his father. "But... do you really have to leave?" he asked desperately. "Isn't there another way? Can't you just leave for a little while, then come back?" 

"I don't know, Goku," Bardock sighed. "I really don't see how I can do anything else. If I stay, they'll track us down and, if the visions are true, kill all of us." He gave a short, humorless laugh. "I wouldn't be surprised if they did, really. Me, they'd kill in the name of justice. You would die for failing in your duty to clear this planet. Radditz would be killed for aiding in the kidnapping of the prince. Everyone else..." He trailed off, then shrugged. "This is a pretty valuable planet. Frieza and his father might be gone, but the Saiyans may very well stay in the Planet Trade business." 

A confused look crossed Goku's face. His father had never really explained in depth what it was he'd once done for a living, and Goku had never pressed the matter. He knew Bardock would tell him when he was ready. But this.... "How do you trade a planet? I thought planets were stuck where they were." He frowned. "Wouldn't it be hard to move a planet somewhere? I mean, planets are _huge!_" 

Bardock winced. He'd avoided telling his son the specifics of his life before he came to Earth... because, deep down, he didn't want the boy to know the details of his bloody past. Taking a deep breath and looking away from his son's innocent black eyes, he explained, "In the Planet Trade business, intelligent life is... cleared from a planet before being sold to another race whose own planet is dying." He tensed, waiting for the explosion he knew was coming. 

"You mean they kill _everyone_ on the whole planet?!" Goku yelled, voice filled with horror and outrage. Then his eyes widened as he realized the further implications of his father's statement. "But... but... if the Saiyans worked for Frieza... they cleared planets..." He paused, dragging in a ragged breath before blurting out the awful truth. "That means _you_ did that _too?!_ Tousan, how could you?!" 

Despite his resolve not to flinch at Goku's accusation, Bardock shifted uncomfortably under his son's horrified stare. Irrationally irritated by his reaction, he folded his arms and scowled down at the boy. "Do you think I had much of a choice? You weren't there, Goku. You don't know what it was like. Our people are warriors by nature. Trying to live without fighting is like trying to live without food." 

"But you don't have to kill people!" Goku shouted, distressed. "You could just spar with each other - like I do! I train and I go to tournaments and _I don't kill unless I have to!! _Life is _precious_, tousan! Don't you understand?!" 

"No, _you_ don't understand, Kakarot!" snapped Bardock. Abruptly standing up, he turned around to face the distraught chibi. "You don't know what it was like to serve under Frieza. You can _never_ understand what the Saiyans went through to become what they are. You do not even remember what it is like to _be_ a Saiyan." Curling his tail around his waist, he turned his back on his son and walked to the door, pausing only long enough to say, "Do not judge me without knowing me." Then he disappeared. 

As Goku watched his father leave the room, unshed tears shimmered in his wide, dark eyes. "I want to know you, 'tousan... but how can I, when you don't tell me anything?" he whispered. 

There was no answer. 

~~**~~ 

The microchips may seem to have popped up out of nowhere, but I've actually had them planned for quite some time. There was just no reason to bring them up until now. There are also still some more details about the microchips which won't come to light until the next chapter, but I bet a lot of you will spot some of them right away. 

Next chapter will probably be the last one. Probably. It depends a lot on the characters themselves. Sometimes the things they say or do need more attention than I'd originally guessed, and often as not something I hadn't planned for pops up. We'll see. 

Thanks for reading! 

**_Story Advertising_**

"Only Time" by Moon Star1, story id 1662757. For those of you who have been yearning for a good time travel fic, I highly recommend this one! Going through time is not an easy decision, but Bra and Goten don't have a choice. An accident at the lab blew them through time and life will never be the same for them or for their parents. 

"Goku Jr's Headband" by Burenda, story id 1594334. How exactly did Goku Jr. come to have the headband he wore to his first tournament? Perhaps he got it when a certain other headband wearer came to have a chat with him... 


	68. Just Like Dad

Bardock: *strolls onto the stage* Hey there, readers. Guess what? I just did you a HUGE favor! *points to the bound and gagged Brenda with a smirk* Now you don't have to listen to her blather on for half a page before letting you get to the story. No thanks necessary... but if you want to give me a gift, I accept cash, credit, and chocolate. *grins*  
  
Disclaimer: Who do you think I am? Akira Toriyama? You must, if you think I own DBZ. Which I don't. Sorry to burst your bubble.  
  
(On a side note: Happy Birthday, Wish For The Past! This story was started on March 24, 2002. I thought about doing something special for the two year anniversary, but couldn't think of anything. At least there's a new chapter. ^_^)  
  


**Wish For The Past**   
(Just Like Dad)  


  
The moment Bulma woke up, she immediately knew that something was very, very wrong. How, do you ask? Easy. She looked at the clock. The clock that was sitting on the night stand next to her bed blithely declared in big, bold, glowing red slashes that it was only 6:04 in the morning - _way_ too early for her to be up! With a groan, the blue-haired girl rolled over and stuffed her pillow on top of her head. _Mornings should be banned,_ she thought half-coherently, valiantly trying not to acknowledge the activity in her brain. If you ignore the fact that you're awake long enough, you can usually trick your brain into going back to sleep.  
  
But alas, it was not to be. The little part of her brain that could always tell when an experiment was about to fail or when a new invention was about to explode in her face, the part that always knew when something was about to go wrong, was insisting that there was more to this early awakening than simple bad luck or insomnia. She liked to call this her "woman's intuition", and it had never failed her before.  
  
With a groan and a reluctant stretch, Bulma sat up in bed and looked around for whatever it was that had made her wake up, but nothing was immediately apparent. Unfortunately, she was still getting the feeling that something was off. Sighing in defeat, she slid out of bed and padded out of the room without bothering to change out of her oversized nightgown. She'd have time to get dressed after she figured out what was wrong.  
  
The capsule house was quiet as she slowly made her way down the hall, pausing at each door to listen for any signs of trouble. Again, there was nothing. All of the rooms were silent except for Radditz's, whose snores seemed particularly loud in the stillness of the house. Not wanting to wake anyone else up, Bulma decided that she'd only poke her head into the bedrooms if she failed to find the source of her unease in the other parts of the house.  
  
A scent like burnt fish caught her nose as soon as she stepped into the living room, telling Bulma that someone else was up and in the kitchen. _Bardock must be making breakfast,_ she thought, knowing how long it took him to cook enough food to feed four full-blooded Saiyans, two demi-Saiyans, and a human girl. _That's why he's up so early._ This was probably what had woken her up. She probably just smelled the burning food and her sleepy mind had translated the smell to mean that the house was burning down, or something like that. Bulma relaxed. _Yeah, that must be it._  
  
Since she was already awake, the young scientist decided it wouldn't hurt her to stay up and chat with Bardock a little, maybe eat some of the less burnt fish. She'd been feeling just a little curious about what his home planet was like, so this was the perfect opportunity to ask him some questions while the chibis were all asleep. Smiling at this plan, Bulma quickly organized a mental list of questions then stepped into the kitchen, ready to interrogate the adult Saiyan as much as she could manage before the others woke up.  
  
Unfortunately, it wasn't Bardock who was in the kitchen at all. Instead, it was Goku who sat at the table with his tail drooped limply over the edge of the bench, picking at a steaming mass of blackened seafood with his fork. Bulma frowned. _Since when does Goku ever pick at his food? He usually just inhales it like a living vacuum cleaner and then asks for more._ Her concern only mounted when the black haired boy lifted a forkful of food to his mouth, then set it back down uneaten with an unenthusiastic sigh. "Goku?" she asked, stepping further into the kitchen. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Huh?" Goku looked up from his food just long enough to see who was in the door, then dropped his eyes back to his plate. "Oh. Hi, Bulma," he muttered. Picking up the fork again, he started stirring his fish aimlessly around the plate, seemingly uninterested in actually eating it.  
  
Bulma sat down on the bench next to her friend and scooted over so they were almost shoulder to shoulder. "What's wrong, kiddo? You seem a little down."  
  
"Nothin's wrong," he mumbled unconvincingly. His fork poked a row of holes into another piece of fish, then proceeded to mash it into tiny little slivers. "I'm just... not feelin' well, 's all."  
  
Frowning at the obvious lie but deciding not to confront him about it if he didn't want to talk, Bulma wrapped one arm companionably around Goku's shoulders. "Fish for breakfast again, huh?" she commented, nodding at the plate on the table. "Your dad doesn't have much imagination, does he?" She'd intended the comment to direct her friend's mind to the more pleasant topic of food (with Goku, food was _always_ a pleasant topic) in order to cheer him up. Unfortunately, it only seemed to have the exact opposite effect, sending the little boy's shoulders into a despondent sag, his head dipping a little closer to his chest than it had been before.  
  
"Tousan didn't make breakfast, Bulma. I did." Goku's voice was so thick with suppressed emotion that the words were almost indecipherable. There was a noticeable hitch in his breath as he continued. "I'm not a good cook. I burned the fish real bad. I w-wanted to make breakfast for t-... for everyone... but I... but I can't! I'm just no good at it!"  
  
"What?" Bulma stared. It wasn't so much Goku's lack of cooking abilities that startled her, but rather his lack of confidence in himself. If there was one thing Goku was never short of, it was self-confidence, even in the face of something he knew he couldn't overcome. He was more likely to laugh at his own shortcomings than to get upset over them. Besides which, Goku had never seemed particularly concerned about his poor cooking skills before, so why was he so upset now? "Goku, what are you talking about? That fish is probably less burned than anything else I've ever seen you cook. It even looks... edible." She admitted that last part somewhat reluctantly, since most of her experiences with her friend's cooking had been anything but appetizing. Half cooked wolves and smoking centipedes had apparently been staples of Goku's diet up until the time he first met Bulma, and he'd been confused and slightly hurt when the human girl had emphatically refused to share his food. Bulma shuddered at the memories.  
  
"But I wanted it to be perfect!" he wailed, shoving the plate of blackened fish away so he could drop his head onto the table and bury his face in his folded arms. "I wanted it to look good an' taste good so maybe... maybe...." The sentence trailed off into what sounded suspiciously like sobs.  
  
Sensing that there was something deeper here than just Goku's culinary skills, Bulma lightly rubbed her friend's back the same way her father used to do for her whenever she was really upset. "Maybe what? Goku, what is it? What's wrong?"  
  
Goku seemed to rub his nose and his face against the sleeve of his overlarge night shirt, then lifted his head to look up at Bulma. "Bulma?" he sniffled. Despite his efforts to wipe away any evidence that he might have been crying, there were still traces of tears and a runny nose. "You... you're a... machine girl, right? I mean, you like machines an' techanalogy and you're good at fixin' things like cars an' my dragon radar an' stuff... right?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm a _mechanic_ and I like _technology_," Bulma confirmed, carefully emphasizing the words Goku had been trying to use. Wondering where this was leading, she asked, "Why?"  
  
Heartened by this confirmation, the little seven year old sat up a little straighter, tiny flickers of hope finding their way into his eyes and his voice. "Do you think... if somebody had a machine _in_ them, could you... y'know... take it out?"  
  
The question took Bulma by surprise. She hadn't been expecting anything like that! "What do you mean?" Eyeing Goku suspiciously, she added jokingly, "You didn't accidentally swallow the dragon radar while you were eating, did you?" By the sullen look on Goku's face, she guessed that he didn't appreciate her attempt to lighten the situation with humor. This _must_ be serious. "Why don't you just tell me what's wrong, Goku, and I'll tell you if I can help."  
  
Goku was silent for several long moments, apparently trying to decide either whether or not to tell Bulma, or how to tell her, what was bothering him. He started fidgeting with his fork again, fingering and twisting it around in his hands, then finally looked back up at his long-time friend. He looked like he was about ready to cry. "Tousan said he can't stay with me 'cause he's got a chip in his head."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  


~*~

  
Contrary to what Bulma had earlier assumed - that everyone was still asleep in their beds - Vegeta had actually been awake for quite some time. In fact, he'd already gotten dressed and had left the capsule house to train by himself in a nearby clearing. Dressed in a loose blue gi and wearing his Saiyan boots and white gloves, the young prince went through some warm up katas with practiced ease. He was glad that he'd found his gloves again. He had thought that they'd been lost for several days now, but they'd actually been tossed into a laundry basket at some point in time and only recently washed. He was so used to wearing gloves when he was fighting that it had felt distinctly odd to spar against Bardock with his bare hands.  
  
Especially when Bardock had taken his hand in his...  
  
Vegeta shook that thought away and concentrated on keeping his punches and kicks smooth and rhythmic. He didn't want to think about the older Saiyan right now. He didn't want to have to deal with the turmoil of emotions that Bardock stirred up whenever he was around. He was the Prince of all Saiyans, damn it! He wasn't supposed to feel things like... like... whatever it was that Bardock made him feel! Bardock was just a low level soldier, certainly not someone Vegeta should be concerned about.  
  
_Ah, but if he's such a low level soldier, how did he manage to defeat you when you sparred with him?_ a little voice taunted in the back of his head. _Prince of Vegeta, son of the strongest Saiyan alive, born with a strength most elites will never achieve in their lifetime... and a common soldier beat you into the ground!_  
  
"Shut up!" Vegeta hissed at the voice even as he slammed a fist into a convenient boulder, shattering it to pieces. "Bardock's different! He... he's an elite! He has to be, because he's too strong to be a low level! I bet if his strength was reevaluated it'd show he's an elite! And I'm only ten years old! Just because I'm the Prince doesn't mean I'm stronger than everyone else! Not yet!" Scowling with determination, the flame-haired child burst into a series of rapid-fire punches. "But I _will_ be the strongest. I will defeat anyone who dares to call themselves stronger than me! Bardock may be stronger than I am _now_, but I'll train and become stronger and someday I _will_ defeat him!" Satisfied with this promise to uphold his honor, Vegeta relaxed a little, even as he sped up the routine with a renewed vigor. Bardock would be pleased when he saw how much the little prince had improved...  
  
_And since when did you care what Bardock thinks?_ Apparently the voice had nothing better to do than make disparaging remarks. _Besides, have you forgotten about that little incident with Kakarot? Bardock's not likely to forgive you for nearly killing his son just because you've been _training, the voice sneered.  
  
Vegeta winced. He _had_ forgotten about that. Or, rather, it had been pushed to the back of his mind during the chaos of being kidnapped and escaping from a falling castle. A spot between his shoulder blades itched in remembrance of the beating he had anticipated receiving from Bardock before Pilaf and his loonies had struck. He was certain that that was what was about to happen, that Bardock had raised his hand so to strike him. He wished with all his heart that Pilaf's weapon had not prevented Bardock from punishing him, that the beating was over and done with. Forgiveness was so much easier to obtain after being punished...  
  
Unconsciously, his thoughts drifted to memories of his father, of the many times he had failed to measure up to the king's high standards and had been disciplined accordingly. Yes, the beatings hurt, but not nearly as much as the disappointment did. The pain at least served the purpose of correcting his behavior and making him stronger, so Vegeta could tolerate it. It was the disapproval he saw in his father's eyes, even when he had deliberately done something he knew he shouldn't have, that hurt the most. But always, after every beating, no matter the infraction, the disapproval lessened and was replaced with pride, pride that Vegeta could accept the consequences of his actions like a man, without any unnecessary crying, and had become stronger for it. No matter how angry King Vegeta had been with his son, once the punishment was over, his anger vented and his son properly chastised, the king would rest a hand on Vegeta's shoulder, silently conveying what words could not express.  
  
And that made it all worth it.  
  
Which might have explained why Vegeta got into trouble so often. While he certainly didn't enjoy being whipped or beaten, he couldn't help but savor the pride and attention he got from his father afterwards. His father was always so busy trying to keep the Saiyan empire in one piece, it seemed that the only time Vegeta ever got to see him was when he was in trouble. So Vegeta accepted whatever punishment his father doled out without complaint, perhaps even looking forward to it, because he knew that after it was over his father would be proud of him. King Vegeta was always proud whenever he proved particularly strong and resilient.  
  
Of course, none of this consciously registered in Vegeta's mind. He wasn't aware that there might be a deeper reason behind his constant trouble making, that he might have subconsciously been seeking his father's attention in the only way he was certain to get it. The only thing he thought of right now was that his father had always forgiven him after he'd been punished for his misdeeds.  
  
If only Bardock would punish him....  
  
_What makes you think Bardock's anything like your father?_ That damned voice just wouldn't shut up! _What if he still hates your guts even after beating the tar out of you? Why would he ever want to forgive a worthless little monkey like you?_ In a sly whisper, the voice added, _And why do you want his forgiveness so badly?_  
  
"Leave me alone!" Vegeta shouted, clapping his hands to his ears in what he knew was a vain effort to block out the voice's mocking words. "I don't want to talk to you!"  
  
"I didn't even say anything to you, Vegeta," an annoyed voice responded... a voice that was _not_ originating from inside Vegeta's head. Startled, Vegeta whirled around to face the speaker, eyes widening when he realized who it was.  
  
"B-Bardock!" He straightened up and hurriedly brushed off the bits of leaves and dust that clung to his clothing from his workout, heart beating nervously inside his chest. "I wasn't talking to you, sir. I... um... didn't see you there," he finished lamely. The excuse sounded pathetic even to his ears, but it was the best he could come up with on short notice. The word "sir" just slipped in out of sheer habit.  
  
Bardock eyed Vegeta for a moment, then shrugged. "If you weren't talking to me, who _were_ you talking to?" He glanced around the clearing briefly before resting his eyes back on the prince, his face unreadable. "I don't see anyone else here." The elder Saiyan crossed his arms and leaned back against a convenient tree, one hand loosely holding a lumpy brown sack. He looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep last night.  
  
If Vegeta hadn't had it drummed into him not to fidget in front of authority, that is exactly what he would be doing right now. "I was just... talking to myself," he admitted, wishing that Bardock would show some kind of emotion on his face - any kind! - that would tell Vegeta what he was thinking. Then he realized how most people would react to a statement like that and he quickly defended, "I'm not crazy." His eyes drifted to the bag in Bardock's hand and, hesitantly, he pointed at it. "What's that?"  
  
Immediately the expression on Bardock's face darkened. Vegeta gulped and was about to retract his question, but Bardock cut him off by answering curtly, "The last of the dragonballs."  
  
"Then we have all the dragonballs now?"   
  
"Yes."  
  
A small frown tugged at Vegeta's lips. If they had all of the dragonballs, that meant that Goten and Trunks could go home. He wasn't certain how he felt about that. He'd gotten... used to the two demi-Saiyans. It would also mean that the quest was over, and that meant that it would be time for Vegeta to go back home to Vegeta-sei. Back to being the Prince of all Saiyans and, eventually, the King. An uncomfortable feeling settled into the pit of his stomach as he realized that... he wasn't ready to go home. He didn't _want_ the adventure to be over just yet.  
  
"I thought we were still missing three of them," he said, knowing even as he said it how redundant it was. He needed time to absorb this turn of events. "When did you..."  
  
"I couldn't sleep last night," Bardock said by way of explanation. "So I decided to do something useful and took one of the radar devices to go look for the rest of the dragonballs." He gazed off into the distance, looking at something only he could see. Vegeta got the impression that his mind wasn't really on the conversation. Then he blinked and tilted his head to give the ten year old a piercing look, mind obviously snapping back to the present. "Vegeta," he said suddenly, making the boy jump. "Did anyone ever teach you how to control your energy?"  
  
"What?" The question seemed to come out of the blue and took Vegeta completely off guard. "What do you mean? Of course I can control my energy!" he huffed indignantly. "What kind of a question is that? Only _babies_ don't know how to use their ki!"  
  
Shaking his head impatiently, Bardock stopped leaning against the tree and made a negating gesture with his free hand. "That's not what I mean! I want to know if anyone ever taught you how to control your energy when fighting against a weaker opponent."  
  
Vegeta stared blankly. "What are you talking about?"  
  
With an exasperated roll of his eyes, Bardock said, "So you don't kill them by accident!" The older warrior made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat and set down the bag of dragonballs at the foot of an ancient oak. "You mean to tell me no one's ever taught you how to modify the strength of a ki blast according to the strength of your opponent?" He waited just long enough for Vegeta to give a confused nod, then snorted. "No wonder you nearly killed Goku. Come here, Vegeta."  
  
Vegeta flinched at the mention of Goku's name. This was it. Bardock had not forgotten that Vegeta had practically roasted his son, and now he was going to deliver the beating he hadn't had the chance to give before Pilaf had knocked them out. Stomach churning with a strange mixture of dread and anticipation, the flame-haired prince carefully made his way over to stand in front of the taller Saiyan, making sure not to trip on any of the debris he'd created during his training. It was finally time to accept his punishment. And then... maybe... Bardock would forgive him.  
  
And be proud of him.  
  
Just like his father.  
  


~~**~~

  
I started off writing this chapter with the intention of finishing the story completely. However, after getting to this point, I realized that if I continued on and made this an extra long chapter so as to finish the story, I'd completely ruin the effect of a lot of the characterization I had just done. So, for the sake of doing what's best for the story rather than my own personal desires, I cut the chapter off here.  
  
This chapter was rather fun to write, and it let me clear up some misconceptions that a lot of readers formed about Vegeta's relationship with his father and his reasons for docilely accepting punishment at Bardock's hands. King Vegeta was not a cruel man... he just had a temper and sometimes went to far in punishing his son. Really, you can hardly blame the guy, though, given that Vegeta was probably constantly goading him.  
  
I'd be glad to hear your opinions about this chapter, so please review!  



	69. It's So Hard To Say Goodbye

I could give lots of excuses - some of them are even pretty good excuses - as to why this chapter is late... but I doubt anyone really wants to hear my excuses. They are, after all, just excuses. Fact of the matter is that, despite my so-called good excuses, I was also being lazy. I simply didn't care to write anything for a long time... so I didn't.  
  
Anyway, here it is: the final chapter of Wish For The Past. There _will _be a short epilogue sometime in the future, but this is really the last full chapter. Full... pah! This chapter's a full frickin' two and a half _times_ the average chapter length! So sit back, relax, and grab something to drink, 'cause unless you're one of those cursed speedy readers, this sucker is gonna take you a while to read.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I must also confess to ripping a few of the dragon's lines from one of the DBZ episodes. Not _all_ of them, mind you. Just some of them. I don't own those either.  
  


**Wish For The Past**  
(It's So Hard To Say Goodbye)  


  
As the young prince made his way over to Bardock, the older Saiyan couldn't help but shake his head in disgust. Vegeta was the _Prince of all Saiyans_! He should have had the best and most thorough training of any Saiyan his age! For Vegeta not to know something as basic as how to _not_ kill his sparring partner screamed of the idiocy of his training master. What would have happened when Vegeta finally grew stronger than the one teaching him, but didn't know how to hold back his strength so he didn't kill him? Bardock snorted. _Whoever the man was, he would have deserved it. Incompetent fool._  
  
A slight scuffing sound brought Bardock's attention back to the matter at hand. Vegeta now stood in front of him, waiting for him to make the first move, and it was the sound of his toe nervously digging into the dirt that had broken into Bardock's thoughts. Bardock pursed his lips and eyed the boy critically for a moment, trying to decide how best to attack this particular problem. "Vegeta, form a ki blast in your hands, but don't let it go," he ordered sternly.  
  
The ten year old's head jerked up, surprise and confusion written all over his face, as though that hadn't been at all what he'd been expecting Bardock to say. "What?"  
  
"You heard me," Bardock said, giving the prince a steely look. "Gather your energy as though were preparing an attack, but don't release it until I tell you to." The boy swallowed visibly at the tone of his voice, but Bardock wasn't much inclined to make any attempt to mask his sour attitude at the moment. He'd had entirely too much time last night with only his thoughts for company, and those thoughts hadn't left him in any kind of mood to deal with the prince's lack of proper training and keep a smile on his face at the same time. If Vegeta couldn't deal with one grumpy Saiyan, he'd be a poor prince indeed.  
  
Thankfully, Vegeta obeyed the repeated command and began to form a sizable ball of energy in his hands without Bardock having to tell him a third time. His patience probably would have snapped if the boy had decided to be stubborn about this, and unfortunately this was something that couldn't be left alone. As the person with the most extensive training and experience, and the only adult Saiyan in their group, it was Bardock's duty to fill this gap in the prince's training, regardless of how he was feeling at the moment. So, train him Bardock would, but it would not be pleasant if Vegeta tried his patience just now - for _either_ of them.  
  
"Bardock-san?" Vegeta's hands were glowing with the light cast from the energy he'd collected between them, and he looked uncertainly from Bardock's face to the ki blast and back again.  
  
Maybe it was Bardock's imagination, but he almost seemed... anxious about something. Was something bothering the prince? Bardock shook his head. Whatever it was, it could wait until after he'd finished training Prince Vegeta to control his ki. _Focus on the task at hand_, he sternly reminded himself. Out loud, he said, "Good. Now, reduce the amount of energy in that attack by half, but keep the size of the sphere the same."  
  
Once again, Vegeta looked as though Bardock's words had caught him completely off guard. "What?" he asked, sounding bewildered. "But, aren't you... what are you... _Why?_"  
  
Bardock's left eye twitched with annoyance. "Well, how _else_ are you going to learn how to control your energy?" he demanded waspishly. "It's not like this is something you're going to learn _without _training!" Honestly, if the boy didn't _want_ to be trained, Bardock certainly wasn't going to _make_ him. Even though he was older, stronger, and better trained than Vegeta, Vegeta _was_ still the prince. Technically, he didn't _have_ to do _anything _the older warrior said. But that didn't make it any less irritating.  
  
"Training?" Vegeta echoed blankly. "You're... training me?"  
  
"And what else _would_ I be doing?" Bardock made an exasperated noise in the back of his throat. "What? Were you expecting me to just ignore it when you told me you didn't know how to adjust the level of your attacks? That I wouldn't care how pathetically under trained you are?" Seeing Vegeta's cheeks flush pink at that insult, the elder Saiyan nodded with satisfaction. He knew it wasn't proper for him to insult the Saiya-jin no Ouji, but, damn it, Vegeta's lack of enthusiasm about learning from Bardock was beginning to grate on his nerves. Besides which, since simply offering to teach the prince hadn't worked, maybe attacking Vegeta's pride would get better results.  
  
"I'm not under trained!" Vegeta responded, half angrily, half defensively. The ball of ki in his hands flared slightly in response to his emotions. "I just-"  
  
_Thwack!_ Bardock's hand connected with the side of the young boy's head. "I told you to _reduce_ the energy in your attack, Vegeta," he growled. "Not increase it. Pay attention to what you're doing! Or can't you even do that?"  
  
The flicker of stunned surprise in his protégé's eyes darkened into a glower as Vegeta's hands twitched as though he wanted to clench them into fists. His ki seemed to quiver between his fingers like a living thing, fluctuating according to Vegeta's conflicting emotions and commands. "I'm doing the best I can!" he snapped sullenly. Then, regaining control of his temper, the prince ducked his head sheepishly and mumbled, "Sorry, Bardock-san." The glowing ball stilled, no smaller than before.  
  
That wouldn't do. Not at all.  
  
"What does it say about our race when the Prince of all Saiyans can't even keep his energy in check while fighting a seven year old chibi?" Bardock taunted. "I've seen infants with better control than you have. You're not even trying, Vegeta!"  
  
"Yes I am!" Vegeta shouted as his temper flared again. The ball of energy started trembling again, straining against bonds of will that could not be seen.  
  
"Well, try harder!"  
  
"SHUT UP!!" With a scream of pure frustration, the ten year old boy hurled the crackling ball of energy at Bardock. The self-appointed sensei had just enough time to widen his eyes in surprise before the attack slammed into his chest and launched his body into involuntary flight, sending him sailing across the clearing.  
  
_Crack!_  
  
Bardock groaned, not certain whether that sound came from the tree he'd crashed into or the sound of bones breaking from the impact with said tree. _Idiot,_ he soundly berated himself. _You really should have seen that coming. Did you really think Vegeta would just stand there doing nothing while you insulted him like that?_ Actually, he'd been hoping that the disparaging remarks would have the opposite effect, goading the prince into making a concentrated effort to prove Bardock's accusations wrong. It didn't seem to have worked too well. _On the bright side,_ he thought with another moan, _I think he's gotten stronger since the last time we sparred. Ooww..._  
  
"Bardock-san!"  
  
Blinking owlishly through the silvery stars in his vision, Bardock suddenly became aware of Vegeta's face hovering a few inches above him. The boy's face twisted anxiously with guilt and concern as he hesitantly touched Bardock's shoulder.  
  
"I... I..." Vegeta began, distraught. "I didn't mean-"  
  
"Yes, you did," Bardock grunted, effectively cutting the prince off. With a grimace he pulled himself up to a sitting position, one hand gingerly exploring his protesting ribs. "You did, and I deserved it. The future king should never allow anyone to insult him like that."  
  
Vegeta opened his mouth to protest, then paused. After a moment, he dropped his eyes to stare at the grass, looking very subdued. Idly tracing his finger through the dirt, he didn't look up even as he dropped a bombshell with his next words.  
  
"What if I don't want to be king?"  
  


-o-

  
Outside of the kitchen, Radditz listened impassively as his little brother explained to Bulma about the dreams... visions... whatever... that his father had been having and the way Bardock had interpreted them. He hadn't intended to eavesdrop, though he wouldn't balk at doing so, but the nature of the conversation had stopped him dead in his tracks before he could enter the kitchen.  
  
He didn't know if his father really was seeing the future - he certainly hadn't ever heard of any Saiyans who possessed that ability - but the chain of events these supposed visions predicted was just too damn _possible_ to ignore. A chill went up his spine as he thought about all of the repercussions his fathers actions could have. Kidnapping the Prince of all Saiyans... He'd be lucky if all they did to him was cut off his tail! Radditz shuddered at the thought of that horrible punishment - one of the worst things that could ever happen to a Saiyan. _And I helped him,_ a scared little voice in the back of his head whispered. Yes, he was scared, damnit! Who wouldn't be, when faced with the prospect death by torture? Another shudder rippled through him. Goku had been pretty graphic when he'd described that part of his dream - the dream he'd picked up from Bardock - to Bulma.  
  
"An'... an' that's why 'tousan said he had to leave," Goku sniffled, his voice drifting around the corner to reach Radditz's ears. "So... I... I was hoping... maybe... you could get that chip out of him... or something...."  
  
Feeling that he had listened long enough, Radditz stepped into the kitchen, which had the immediate effect of drawing their attention to him. "There isn't anything you can do," he stated soberly. "Those microchips are designed to prevent tampering of any kind. If you try to remove them or deactivate them, you'll only end up blowing our brains out."  
  
Bulma folded her arms across her chest and hmphed. "You don't know who you're dealing with, Radditz. I may be only eleven, but I _am_ a genius! So's my father. With the two of us working together, I bet we could beat those chips, no sweat!"  
  
"Are you willing to stake our lives on that?" Radditz asked flatly. "However good you might be with technology, you're only experience is with _human_ technology, not Saiyan technology. There's a world of difference between the two, trust me, and you don't have the luxury of practicing before hand. You'd have to get it _exactly_ right on the first try, because one wrong slip, one miscalculation, and whoever you're working on will have a nice little hole in his head when that chip self-destructs."  
  
"Well, what about Vegeta, then?" Bulma challenged. "Isn't he your prince? Can't he just wave his hand and say you're all pardoned or something?"  
  
"He's also only ten years old," Radditz dryly pointed out. "I don't know how things work on your world, but on Vegeta-sei he'd be considered too young to make such important decisions. I don't think it had been decided yet when we left, but there's probably been a regent appointed to "help" Vegeta rule our people until he comes of age. He's the guy you'd have to get a pardon from, not Vegeta, and I _really_ don't think he's likely to give us one. What's more likely is that he'll make an example of us." Radditz gestured dramatically. "In one stroke, he'll demonstrate his power as regent _and _look like he's doing his duty, punishing the criminals who dared abduct the crown prince."  
  
Bulma's face fell. "The people would love him for it... and fear him... which is exactly what he'd want."  
  
"Which is why I agree with father," Radditz concluded grimly. "Our only option is to leave, to go someplace where they can't find us, and right now the only place I can think of that fits that description is Goten and Trunks's timeline."  
  
"Then I'm coming too," Goku's quiet but determined voice cut into the conversation. Radditz glanced at his little brother, lifting and eyebrow at the stubborn look on the little boy's face. "I... I just _got_ you! You're my family! I don't wanna lose either of you, Radditz. Besides, I'm in the... the military, too," he said with a grimace. "If I've got a chip in my head, too, then I _have_ to go with you! Or Earth will still be in danger!"  
  
A mental picture of his little brother trying to fit in amongst the soldiers of Vegeta-sei flashed through Radditz's head and, despite the seriousness of the situation, his mouth twitched with amusement. "Actually, you don't have a microchip, ototo. The Saiyan children sent out on planet clearing missions aren't actually considered part of the military until they come back from their first mission. Even then, they have to be a certain age and undergo a bit of preliminary training before they're given an implant. Still..." Radditz tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I don't see why you can't come with us."  
  
Apparently relieved that his brother wasn't going to argue the point, Goku's face broke out into a huge smile. "And Vegeta!" he started excitedly. "Vegeta can come with us, too, right, 'niisan?"  
  
Radditz shrugged. "If he wants to. It's not my place to tell him if he can come or not. But don't get your hopes too high," he cautioned. "He _is_ the Prince. His duty is to his people, and he can't very well become king if he travels to another timeline."  
  
"Oh." The seven year old sighed, slightly deflated, then perked up again. "But you said there was a detergent guy who was running things. Maybe _he_ could be the king, an' then Vegeta could come with us!"  
  
"Regent," Radditz corrected absentmindedly. "And like I said, I can't tell you if Vegeta will even want to come or not. It's his decision, not mine." Of course, this didn't dampen Goku's hopes one bit.  
  
At the lull in the conversation, Bulma spoke up, frowning. "But Goku, if you go off with your father, Goten won't ever be born in this timeline!"  
  
It was one of the few things Bulma could have said that would have made Goku falter in his decision. Goku blinked several times as the full implications of what leaving his timeline would mean for his future son's existence. Then he relaxed, shaking his head with a smile. "It's okay, Bulma. Goten'll still exist in the other timeline," he said with typical seven-year-old logic.  
  
The blue haired girl bit her lip. "But not in _this_ timeline, he won't!" the blue haired girl protested.  
  
"I'm sure there are plenty of other timelines out there where my nephew doesn't exist," Radditz commented mildly. "This wouldn't be the first one." It seemed clear to him that it wasn't so much Goten's existence that Bulma was worried about, but also potentially losing a friend of hers forever. However, Radditz was much more inclined to side with Goku on this. He was getting to be rather fond of the little squirt. And, in a way, Goku was right. Goten _would_ be there in the future timeline, so Goku's decision wouldn't directly affect _them_. Just this particular timeline, and since they weren't going to be living here anymore, it didn't really matter as far as he was concerned.  
  
Bulma opened her mouth again, looking fully prepared to keep arguing, but Goku spoke up first. "Bulma, I wanna go with my family," he said quietly, his dark eyes gazing soulfully into her blue ones. "Please..."  
  
"But..." The young girl's eyes filled with tears. "But, Goku.... I'll _miss_ you..."  
  
Scooting a few inches closer to his friend, Goku wrapped his arms around Bulma's waist and unashamedly buried his face in her chest. "I'll miss you, too," he responded thickly. "But I still want to be with my family. I... I won't ever forget you, Bulma. I promise."  
  
"I won't forget you, either," Bulma sniffled, returning Goku's hug with one of her own. She gave a small, obviously forced laugh and lifted one hand to ruffle his hair affectionately. "As if I _could_ forget you! I don't think I'll ever meet anyone like _you_, Son-kun. Not in a million years."  
  
_No,_ Radditz agreed silently as he watched his little brother say goodbye to the first friend the boy had ever had. _Not in a million years...._  
  


-o-

  
The silence that descended after Vegeta's words was almost deafening, but he didn't dare look up at Bardock, afraid of what he might see on the older warrior's face. Now that he'd admitted it out loud, the little prince realized just how much they were true. He _didn't_ want to be king! He didn't want to argue with diplomats or worry about people spying on him or trying to assassinate him. He didn't want to worry about trade or the economy or war or all the billions of things he'd seen his father manage _every single day_. In short, he didn't want to grow up. Not yet, not so soon.  
  
He still wanted to have fun....  
  
The sound of a sigh... the soft scraping of dirt under a shifting weight... a hand on his shoulder. Vegeta jerked his head up, startled. "Wha...?"  
  
"I understand," Bardock murmured. Catching the younger Saiyan's look of surprise, his mouth curled into a faint smirk. "I wouldn't want to be the king, either," he clarified. "Being responsible for the life of every Saiyan and all that entails... the weight of the world on your shoulders... I can understand why you're scared, Vegeta."  
  
"I'm not scared!" Vegeta protested.  
  
"Yes, you are," the scarred soldier contradicted solemnly. "You're scared of that much responsibility. You're scared of growing up. And... I think you're scared of being alone. As you've no doubt seen from your father, rulers are lonely people. They have no equals, they can't be sure who they can trust, and they don't have much time to pursue friendships, anyway. And that scares you." He quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "Am I right?"  
  
Vegeta opened his mouth to deny the accusation again, to tell Bardock that he was _not_ scared, that he was the Prince of all Saiyans and princes aren't allowed to be scared, that he... that he... He swallowed the hard lump that had somehow formed in his throat, blinking back the sudden stinging sensation in his eyes. The wind must have blown dust in his eyes, or something, because he was _not_ going to cry. Certainly not when there was nothing to cry _about_. "What do you know about it?" he muttered sullenly, discreetly wiping the "dust" out of his eyes with the edge of his sleeve.  
  
"It's how I would feel if I was in your shoes," Bardock replied candidly. "If I was only ten years old and someone told me I had to be the king, I'd be scared spitless! But what you don't understand is that _someone_ has to be the king, and whether you realize it or not, you've been trained for it since the day you were born. You also wouldn't have to do it all by yourself, either. Every king has a group of advisors, staff, people to delegate things to, and, in your case, a regent to help carry the burden of responsibility until you're old enough to handle it all on your own."  
  
"Well, why can't one of _them_ be the king?!" the flame haired child growled. "Why do they need _me_ to be the king? Why can't I just stay here?"  
  
Bardock gave Vegeta a pointed look. "You know perfectly well the way our society works, Vegeta. Strength is the only thing our people respect, and there are very few Saiyans who come anywhere near to matching the natural strength and intelligence in you and your family. Everyone knows this, so when you claim the throne, hardly anyone will protest. However, if a complete stranger were to be crowned, it would most likely result in a world wide civil war! No one would accept that this man was the strongest, the most capable of leading our people, and every arrogant Saiyan warrior or politician who thought they could do better would challenge him, forcing him to kill them or be killed himself. When it was all over, Vegeta-sei would be bathed in blood, weak and vulnerable to attacks from our enemies. And we have a _lot_ of enemies, Vegeta."  
  
Vegeta balled his hands into fists and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out Bardock's words, to ignore the truth in them. He. Didn't. Want. To. Be. King. Why couldn't Bardock understand that?! He _said_ he understood, but if he really did, then why was he still trying to convince Vegeta that he had to go back to Vegeta-sei?!  
  
_Because he wants you to do what's best for your people, not for yourself,_ came the half-expected response from the voice in Vegeta's head. _He wants you to stop being a selfish little baby._ There was a pause, as though the voice was expecting the ten year old to say something in his defense, but Vegeta just didn't feel like arguing with it right now. Maybe if he ignored the voice, it'd go away....  
  
_All those people dead,_ it whispered insidiously. _All because you're too weak and too scared to fulfill your destiny._  
  
"Vegeta?"  
  
_Frieza was right about you, you know. You're nothing but a worthless little monkey._  
  
"Vegeta? Are you all right?"  
  
_Your father raised you to be the greatest Saiyan that ever lived. Guess you failed to live up to his expectations. Again._  
  
"Vegeta!"  
  
_Again and again and again and..._  
  
"Ve-"  
  
"SHUT UP!!!" Vegeta lurched to his feet, throwing Bardock's hand off his shoulder, and whirled around to face the startled warrior. His breath came out in ragged gasps that made his whole body shudder, as though he'd just fought a hard battle, and his vision was blurry... but he didn't let any of that stop him from glaring up at the older Saiyan. "Just... just shut up! You've made your point! I'll go back to Vegeta-sei and be the king, so just leave me alone!" He didn't know whether he was yelling at Bardock or at the voice in his head. It didn't really matter. He just knew that if he didn't yell, he'd....  
  
"Vegeta, are you... _crying?_" Bardock's voice was laced with surprise and concern. Vegeta hated him for it.  
  
"I am not!" he shouted, angrily scrubbing away whatever it was that had made Bardock think he was even capable of tears. "I'm not crying! I'm the Prince of all Saiyans, and Saiyan princes d-don't cry!" Why was his hand wet? Why was he shaking so much? Why did it hurt to breathe?  
  
_Because you _are_ crying!_ the voice laughed with wicked glee. _Poor widdle baby...._  
  
"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" he screamed. His ki flared to life around him in a blazing aura and he didn't even pause to think before using it to hurl himself into the sky. He had to get away. Away from Bardock, away from the voice, away from... from everything! He didn't look back as he blasted through the cold, damp clouds...  
  
...which is why he didn't see the trail of glittering, golden sparkles left in his wake.  
  


-o-

  
As Vegeta disappeared into the atmosphere, Bardock stared after him for a moment, too troubled and distracted to register the yellow tinge to the ten year old's ki trail. Vegeta's behavior seemed somehow... off to him, but he couldn't pin it down exactly. Something about how the boy had spaced out for a few seconds, or the erratic way he'd reacted to some of the things Bardock had said... It almost seemed as if....  
  
"No." Shaking his head, Bardock firmly put the thought out of his mind. That sort of thing just _didn't happen_ to members of the royal family. Vegeta was probably just stressed, angry, and frustrated, and for very good reasons. Bardock hadn't exactly been tiptoeing around the prince's feelings, after all. "He just needs some time to cool off," he concluded, turning away from the ruined clearing. A stab of pain shot through his ribs at the sudden movement, but he ignored it. He'd already determined that nothing had been broken, though the possibility of fractures hadn't been ruled out, but he wasn't concerned about that. He'd suffered worse before and lived to tell the tale, and fractured ribs really wasn't anything to be worried about. In a few days they'd be only a memory.  
  
"Time to go let everyone know I found the last of the dragonballs," he sighed. Trudging reluctantly back to the capsule house, he tried - unsuccessfully - not to think about what having all the dragonballs truly meant to him. He didn't want to think about how he would never see his world, his people, or his children ever again. He didn't want to think about the danger he'd be leaving Goku and Radditz in, and they would still be in danger. His visions had only shown him what would happen to them if he stayed, not what would happen if he left, so there was still the possibility that something else would crop up to threaten their lives... But that was something they would just have to deal with. Even in a perfect world, there would always be things that he couldn't protect them from, that they would have to learn to handle by themselves. That was just the way things were. At least they would have each other....  
  
Upon entering the dome shaped house, Bardock paused in the doorway and tilted his head to one side. He could hear voices coming from the kitchen, and his nose detected the distinct odor of slightly charred fish, so chances were that everyone else was awake now. He deliberately turned away from the kitchen and went to collect the other four dragonballs from his room, figuring it'd make things easier if they were all in one place. In the back of his mind, though, he knew that he was merely using this as an excuse to avoid the inevitable confrontation with his children. Especially Goku. He didn't really want to face his youngest son again so soon after their argument last night. He was still having trouble resolving in his own mind all the issues that had been brought up about, and he doubted that Goku was faring any better with his own feelings. But, like it or not, he couldn't put this off forever.  
  
_Might as well get it over with now,_ he thought gloomily, dropping the last of the dragonballs into the pouch he'd used to hold the three from last night's excursion. The ball _clinked_ as it touched its siblings, all seven glowing an enchanting yellow-orange, then disappeared from view as Bardock pulled the drawstring closed. As an afterthought, he also pocketed his scouter... to take a few last pictures. Taking a deep breath, he turned back the way he'd come from and headed back to the kitchen.  
  
"...not that bad, honest! I'm sure your father will like it," Bulma's voice floated down the hall as Bardock approached. "After all, it's not like he's any better! You must have inherited his cooking abilities, Goku."  
  
"Trust me, little brother, compared to some of the things we've eaten, your fish seems like a feast."  
  
"Are you sure?" Bardock hesitated at the sound of Goku's young, anxious-sounding voice. "Even though I burned it?"  
  
Giving himself a firm mental shake, the Saiyan warrior gathered all his courage and did what was probably one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life: He stepped into the kitchen.  
  
"Would _you_ be willing to eat it?" Radditz asked.  
  
"Well, yeah, but..."  
  
"Then don't worry about it," the teenager cut in with a toothy grin. Noticing his father's entrance, Radditz sat up straighter and nodded in greeting. "Morning, 'tousan."  
  
Goku visibly jumped, twisting around in his seat to look up at Bardock with slightly widened eyes. He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively echoed his older brother's words. "Ohayoo..."  
  
"Good morning," Bardock replied cautiously, wary of any emotional outbursts from his youngest son. A second or two ticked by in silence before it became apparent that nothing of the sort was going to happen, which brought a wave of relief washing over him. He really hadn't been looking forward to dealing with a distraught chibi this morning. Maybe Goku was more mature than he'd thought?  
  
Feeling a little more relaxed, Bardock plunked the bag of dragonballs down on the table. "I went dragonball hunting last night," he said, avoiding any mention of what had happened before he'd left. "I found the last three dragonballs... which means we can make the wish anytime now." He paused, bracing himself for the wails of protest he knew would be coming from Goku any second now. Once the boy realized that having all the dragonballs now also meant his father would be leaving him today, instead of days or even weeks from now....  
  
But Goku didn't cry. He didn't get angry or protest or try to wheedle Bardock out of his decision.... He just... smiled.  
  
"That's great!" the seven year old chirped, seemingly oblivious to the completely baffled look his father was giving him. "I bet Goten an' Trunks'll be really happy about that!"  
  
_Did I miss something?_ Bardock's bewildered mind wondered. He darted a quick glance at Radditz, but the teenager didn't act like Goku was behaving at all oddly. Then again, he hadn't told his oldest son about his plans yet, so he probably didn't know that Goku _should_ be acting differently. Bulma didn't seem to notice anything, either, and apparently Goten and Trunks were still in bed, as neither one was in sight. "Uh... right. So... er... how exactly do these things work?" he asked, more to buy time to collect himself than from any real curiosity. _Maybe he went back to sleep and, when he woke up, he thought it was all a dream?_  
  
"Don't worry, it's easy," Goku assured him. Eager to demonstrate how simple it was, he leaned across the table so he could reach the bag of dragonballs and began pulling the small orange spheres out one by one. "All you gotta do is put 'em on the ground like this..." He placed each ball on the table in something that might have been a specific pattern, or might have been complete coincidence. "Then when you wanna make your wish, you just say 'Shenlon, I summon you!' or somethin' like tha-_whoa!!_"  
  
"Whoa" was right! Bardock nearly jumped out of his skin as the seven magical balls flared a brilliant, blinding white. The air around the table literally crackled with energy for a moment, raising the hairs on the back of the warrior's neck, before the light coalesced into a bolt of electricity that shot up through the ceiling.  
  
_Cracka_BOOM!  
  
Dust and debris showered down on their heads. Bulma screamed. Bardock cursed and dove out of the way as a large chunk of what had once been the ceiling crashed down right where he'd been standing. Radditz, who'd been sitting between Goku and Bulma, latched onto both of them and yanked them out of harm's way. A deep rumbling filled the air, and it took Bardock a moment to realize that it wasn't the sound of the roof collapsing.  
  
It was someone speaking.  
  
"**YOU HAVE DISTURBED ME FROM MY SLUMBER.**"  
  
Bardock looked up. And up. And up. _Holy..._ The epithet in his mind died before it had a chance to finish. There simply weren't any words adequate to express what he was thinking right now. It was big. It was green. It had one of the nastiest sets of teeth Bardock had ever had the privilege of setting his eyes on. And, damn, was it _ugly!_  
  
"**SPEAK, AND NAME YOUR WISH!**"  
  
"But I didn't _mean _to summon the dragon yet!" Goku wailed. "I was just tellin' 'tousan what to do!"  
  
The dragon's blood red eyes flashed ominously. "**YOU TRY MY PATIENCE,**" it grated out, the deep, gravelly voice vibrating Bardock down to his very bones. "**MAKE YOUR WISH!**"  
  
There weren't a lot of things left in this universe that could make Bardock feel true fear. Even faced with a superior foe, he tended more towards excitement and determination than terror. It was one of the things that had made him such a good fighter. But the way the scaly serpentine beast glared at them, framed by a sudden midnight sky, sent an icy chill down Bardock's spine that had nothing to do with the draft coming in through the broken roof. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all...  
  
"**WELL?**" the dragon snapped irritably. "**WHAT IS YOUR WISH?**"  
  
"W-wait!" Bardock's mouth felt like it hadn't tasted water in a thousand years, but somehow he managed to find his voice. "Goten and Trunks aren't here. We can't make the wish without them."  
  
The dragon growled, thunder after the lightning of its summoning. "**THEN GO AND BRING THEM SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE YOUR WISH. I GROW TIRED OF WAITING!**" Shifting his coils impatiently, the Eternal Dragon probably didn't even notice as his massive body widened the already gaping hole in the ceiling, which now included the upper part of one of the walls. Bardock winced. Too much more of that and there wouldn't be much of a house left after they made their wish.  
  
"I-I'll go get them," Bulma offered hurriedly even as she ducked out of the kitchen. Apparently Bardock wasn't the only one intimidated by the giant magical creature - and she'd already _met_ the dragon before!  
  
For some reason, that made Bardock feel better.  
  


-o-

  
To say Goku was nervous would be an understatement. No, he wasn't worried about the dragon. He'd seen Shenlon before and knew that, despite the dragon's menacing looks and behavior, he wasn't going to bite anyone's head off. He was just grouchy from being woken up, that's all. Goku's eyes slid away from the dragon to focus on the true object of his concerns: his father. He hadn't had a chance to tell his father that he was going to go with him and Radditz to the future, and he wasn't certain how Bardock was going to react. What if Bardock didn't _want_ him to come with them? What if Bardock... didn't want _him_?  
  
_You know that's not true,_ he scolded himself firmly. _So stop thinking like that._ All he had to do was walk up and tell his father about his plans. Of course Bardock would agree with him and let him come. After all, Bardock _was_ his father.  
  
Gaining confidence from these thoughts, the little seven year old left his brother's side and approached his father. "'Tousan?" he said, effectively pulling Bardock's attention away from the Eternal Dragon. Once his father's eyes were on him, he took a deep breath and said, "I want to go with you."  
  
Bardock blinked owlishly. "What?"  
  
It felt like there was something alive inside his stomach practicing somersaults. Goku pushed the feeling away and plowed on. "When you go to the future with Goten an' Trunks," he clarified. "I wanna go with you."  
  
Goku's father jerked his head back in surprise. "What? But... the vision... you can't... that won't..." Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and continued more clearly, "Goku, the vision didn't show you coming with me."  
  
Goku blinked, confused. What did that have to do with anything?  
  
Apparently reading the confusion in his son's expression, Bardock quickly changed tacks. He dropped down to one knee in front of the seven year old so he could look Goku in the eyes, and patiently argued, "What about Goten? And the rest of your family? Without you, your children will never be born."  
  
"Goten will still exist in the future timeline," Radditz interjected. "And I'm sure this timeline can get along just fine without us."  
  
Bardock raised an eyebrow. "'Us?'"  
  
"Radditz has a chip in his head, too," said Goku. "So he can't stay, either. An' you two are my family _now_. I don't wanna wait for a family I don't have yet! I want t'go _with_ you!"  
  
A tiny spark of hope flickered in Bardock's eyes, as though he wanted to think that it was possible for Goku to come with him, but didn't want to get his hopes up yet. "What about your friends? If you come to the future with me - and Radditz - you won't see any of them again, except as adults."  
  
Goku shook his head and opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted before he could say anything.  
  
"Wait, what are you two talking about? Goku can't come with us!" Trunks cut in, having come into the kitchen at the last part of the conversation. Behind him, Bulma was leading a still-sleepy Goten over to one of the benches. The purple-haired demi-Saiyan didn't even spare a glance for the glowing dragonballs or the enormous serpent-like being hovering above them. "And neither can you, Bardock! _Or_ Radditz! You have to stay in your _own _timeline."  
  
"Not if it means endangering my children," Bardock countered grimly. "And according to my visions and my own common sense, if I stay here, a lot of people will die - including Goku and Radditz." After a brief explanation about the microchips, he concluded, "So you see why Radditz and I can't stay in this timeline."  
  
Trunks frowned skeptically, then folded his arms and _hmph_ed. "Well, maybe _you two_ can come to the future with us, but Goku _can't_. He has to stay here and protect the Earth!"  
  
"What do you mean?" Goku asked. Was the Earth in danger? What could he do to help? He'd always thought he was strong... until he met his family, Trunks, and Vegeta. They were all a _lot_ stronger than him! What threat could there be that _Trunks_ couldn't stop that Goku _could_?  
  
"Lots of people have tried to destroy the Earth, Goku... or... they _will_ try to destroy it." Puzzling over which tense to use, Trunks rubbed his head with one hand for a moment, then shrugged it off and went on. "If you left with us, I dunno if all of them would still try it, 'cause some of them were... uh... I don't think I should say. But anyway, there's at _least_ one bad guy who'll try to blow up the Earth, an' if you're not here, there won't be anyone strong enough to stop him!"  
  
"But I'm not very strong," Goku said doubtfully.  
  
"No, you're not," Trunks agreed rather callously. "Not right now, anyway. But someday you _will_ be. He's not coming soon, so you have lots of time to train. He's very, very strong, though - stronger than me or Goten - so you'd better train hard."  
  
Goku gave the blue eyed boy a stricken look. "Stronger than you _or_ Goten?!"  
  
"Yeah..." Trunks hesitated, then smirked. "But only when we're separate." Now what did _that_ mean? "Don't worry, Goku," he went on reassuringly. "In the future, you're _much_ stronger than either of us, even when we use the fus- er... a really special technique that makes us stronger."  
  
A bone-rattling growl rumbled through the air, effectively cutting off whatever response Goku was going to make. "**ENOUGH!**" Shenlon snarled. "**THE ONES YOU REQUIRED ARE HERE. I MUST HAVE YOUR WISH _NOW!_**"  
  
A small squeak somehow managed to escape from Goku's throat. Okay, so maybe the Eternal Dragon _was_ a little scary. But now wasn't the time to be afraid. He didn't have enough time as it was! Blinking back the tears that suddenly sprung to his eyes, Goku lurched toward his father and flung his arms around the man's neck. Burying his face in the lower spikes of Bardock's hair, he allowed himself one shuddering sob before he pulled back enough to meet his father's eyes. "I want to go with you, daddy," he sniffled. "But... but I _can't_. If the Earth needs me to stay...." He couldn't finish the sentence. The lump in his throat was too big to speak around.  
  
Thick, strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him close, and for a moment Goku felt warm and happy and whole. This was the way things were supposed to be. This was the reason he wanted to be with his father. And this is what he would never get to feel again. Not until he had a family of his own, in a future that seemed an eternity away. "I love you, 'tousan," he whispered thickly.  
  
Bardock's hold on his son tightened, his voice cracking slightly with suppressed emotion. "I love you, too, Goku."  
  
The embrace lasted for only a few more seconds before Goku forced himself to let go of his father. Sniffling through his tears, the little seven year old turned to his old brother, hesitated, then hurried over to give Radditz a quick, heartfelt hug around his knees. "I'm gonna miss you, 'niisan."  
  
Radditz stared down at his little brother, as though unsure how to respond to this attack on his legs, then awkwardly reached down to ruffle the boy's spiky mass of hair. "I'm going to miss you, too... Goku. You take care of yourself, okay?"  
  
Goku wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and nodded bravely. "Hai!" Lifting his head to address the Eternal Dragon, he called out in as steady a voice as he could manage, "Okay, Shenlon! We're ready!"  
  
"**FINALLY**," the dragon grumbled. "**NOW, WHAT IS YOUR WISH?**"  
  
Goku looked at his father.  
  
Taking a deep breath, Bardock closed his eyes and rose to his feet, then opened his eyes again before speaking in a clear, firm voice, "Dragon, we wish for you to send me, my son, Radditz, Goten, and Trunks to the timeline that Goten and Trunks came from."  
  
Shenlon's eyes glowed briefly. "**IT IS DONE!**"  
  
And it was. In the blink of an eye, Goten, Trunks, Bardock, and Radditz had vanished from the ruined kitchen, leaving behind a solemn blue haired girl comforting a broken-hearted black haired boy. And, perched on the broken section of the wall, another black haired boy watched, his face a stony, expressionless mask.  
  
"**FAREWELL,**" the Eternal Dragon intoned before disappearing in another blinding flash of light, followed soon thereafter by seven shining streaks shooting off in seven different directions.  
  
And then... silence.  
  


--oo--

  
  
There. I hope it was worth the wait. All that's left now is the epilogue, plus a section where I answer a few of the more important questions that have come up during the course of this fic.  
  
There isn't really a story advertising this time, not because there aren't any good stories to advertise, but because it's late and I'm too tired and lazy to go hunt down the necessary information for an advertisement. For any of you who want to read a bit more about the relationship Vegeta had with his father, I wrote a WFTP-universe one-shot featuring King Vegeta and Chibi Vegeta, called A Father's Pride.  
  
See you all in the epilogue. 


	70. Epilogue: Homeward Bound

As promised, a short epilogue, followed by a few final explanations, notes on the making of the story, and thank yous. 

Disclaimer: I've been saying the same thing for the past two years and nine months, and as far as this story is concerned, this is the last time I'll say it again. This story is over and will never need to be disclaimed again. But let's do it one more time, for old time's sake. (grins) I don't own DBZ.

**Wish For The Past**  
(Epilogue: Homeward Bound)  


  
Bardock was gone. The realization struck Vegeta deeply, resonating somewhere inside him, like a hammer striking a bell. He felt like a bell, too, empty and hollow. 

Bardock was gone.

How did he feel about that? The man hadn't even thought to say goodbye to him before making that wish. Not that he cared. Why should he care? Bardock was only a stupid, low level soldier who just happened to be a little bit stronger than him - but only because he was old and Vegeta was young. He obviously didn't care about his prince other than to try to convince Vegeta to go back to Vegeta-sei and become the king. That was all Bardock had ever wanted from him. Prince, king... that's all Vegeta would ever _be_ to him. Which was just fine with him, because he didn't care. Right? Right.

But that didn't change the fact that Bardock was gone. Vegeta's mind couldn't seem to wrap itself around that one thought, and it continued to echo over and over again inside his head. Gone, gone, gone... Bardock was gone, and now it was time to go home.

_Home..._ Vegeta frowned at the word. He hadn't really been home in a long time, not since he'd started working for Frieza. What would it be like to be confined to one planet after years of space travel? Would it be anything like the time he'd spent here on Earth? _No_, his mind told him. There would be no adventures on Vegeta-sei, no journeys across the planet in quest of magical dragonballs, no... friends... to travel with and talk to. Friends... what a strange concept. He'd never had friends before he'd been kidnapped by Bardock, Trunks, and Goten. Friendship implied a measure of equality, and Saiyan princes didn't have any equals. Probably the closest thing he'd ever had to a friend had been Nappa, and the older, bald-headed man had really only been a bodyguard, an underling, someone to share his victories and triumphs with, someone to complain to when things weren't going the way Vegeta wanted them, someone he could vent his anger on. He hadn't exactly been the brightest of the Royal guards, but he'd been solid and dependable. Nappa had always been there for as long as he could remember... until he died obeying the orders Vegeta had given him.

He missed Nappa.

Not feeling like dwelling on that thought, Vegeta hopped down off the broken wall, landing lightly on a bare patch of dirt outside the house. He doubted that either Bulma or Goku had even noticed him... which was just as well. He really didn't feel like talking to either of them right now. Especially Goku. No, what he wanted to do was get his mind off of what had just happened, ignore the fact that... that Bardock was gone. The best way to do that would be to find a task to focus on.

"Guess it's time to find those capsules Trunks kept the space ship in..."

-o-

  
"Where _are_ they?! They have to be here somewhere!" 

"Oh, calm down, Vegeta! It's not like they just up and walked away. Once we clean up this mess, I'm sure we'll find them."

"Um... Bulma? Vegeta?"

"Not now, Goku. We're a little busy."

"This is just a stupid plot to get us to help you clean, isn't it!"

"It is not!"

"Uh... guys?"

"You're the one who asked us to help you find the capsules! I would think you'd be a little more grateful!"

"Grateful for what?! You haven't done anything but tell us to pick up dirty laundry!"

"That's not true! I've been searching all the pockets in case Trunks left them there."

"And why would Trunks have left the capsules in _Radditz's_ pockets?"

"Well, maybe he gave them to Radditz and Radditz left them in his pocket. Either way, we still need to search all the pockets, just in case."

"Ano... Bulma... about those pockets..."

"Goku, put that laundry on top of the bed, would you?"

"Okay. But-"

"Thanks, Son-kun! Vegeta, do you think you could crawl under the bed and shove everything that's underneath out here so I can look through it?"

"Why don't you do it yourself?"

"Because you're smaller than me, and I'm a girl. I don't want to get dust bunnies in my hair!"

"What are 'dust bunnies'?"

"They're vicious little monsters that like to eat the fingers and toes of beautiful girls like me. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

"..."

"I'll do it, Bulma."

"Oh, would you, Goku? You're the best! Unlike _some_ people I know..."

"Hmph. Just because I can see right through you..."

"Here you go. That's all the stuff under Radditz's bed. But there's something I think you should-"

"EEEEWWWW!!! Radditz, you stupid pincushion, haven't you ever heard of putting your dirty underwear in the _laundry hamper?!_"

"...you do realize Radditz isn't here, don't you?"

"Of course I know that! It's a good thing, too, or, Saiyan or no Saiyan, I'd whack him so hard he wouldn't _need_ to use the dragonballs to get to the future!"

"Bulma, about the future, I think Trunks-"

"Goku, do you need to go to the bathroom?"

"Huh? No. Why do you ask?"

"Well, the way you keep fidgeting..."

"Oh, no, that's just 'cause there's something I really need to-"

"If you need to go to the bathroom, Goku, just go. We don't need your help _that_ badly."

"No, Bulma, that's not why I'm-"

"For Kami's sake, he's seven years old! He doesn't need you to _tell_ him when to go to the bathroom!"

"I don't need to go to the bathroom! I'm just tryin' to say something!"

"Oh. Well, what is it?"

"When we were cleaning the house yesterday, I saw Trunks put some capsules in his pocket."

"Great! All we have to do is search Trunks's laundry, then!"

"Um... not exactly... y'see... he was wearing those pants when he went to the future with 'tousan..."

-o-

  
The world swirled in the aftermath of the wish as decades passed by in the blink of an eye. Then, suddenly, it stopped, and Bardock found himself looking around at the subtly changed world around them. The capsule house was gone, as was any trace that it had ever been there. Most of the trees that he could remember being in the immediate area were still there, but they had grown, and there were trees in places that there hadn't been any before. The underbrush appeared much as it had in the past, and yet it too had changed. So had the weather. Before the wish had been made, it had felt like early spring to Bardock, but now the sun beat down on his head and a warm breeze teased his hair. _It's probably summer, then,_ his mind noted absently. And another stray thought, _I wonder how hot it gets on this planet... _The biggest change, though, was the empty spot where his son had been standing. _Goku..._

"What do we do now, Trunks?" The question came from his grandson, Goten, who resembled Goku so much that it hurt to look at him. Instead, Bardock turned to Trunks to see what his answer would be.

"I..." Trunks squirmed uncomfortably. The answer was obvious, really, but considering the consequences that would undoubtedly accompany it, it was no wonder the boy was hesitant to say it. Trunks looked up at Bardock, his blue eyes pleading with the older man to take this responsibility off his shoulders.

Bardock sighed.

"Now we go home, Goten," he stated simply. _Home..._ This world was not his home. His home didn't exist in this timeline, shattered into a thousand pieces by a blast of pure spite. There had been no time traveling Super Saiyan here to save his world and his people from destruction. Maybe someday in the future he would be able to call the Earth his "home", but not now. There was a saying, though he couldn't remember where he'd heard it, that "home is where the heart is". If that was the case, then his heart and his home lay in the past with a little boy that, in all likelihood, he would never see again.

Instead he would meet a grown man. A man who had never eaten slightly charred fish courtesy of his father's poor cooking skills, who'd learned how to fly from someone else, and who had never come to him in the night seeking comfort and reassurance. A man with no memory of him whatsoever.

With Trunks leading the way back to Capsule Corporation, the four Saiyans flew through the air at a steady pace, though none of them was particularly eager to get to their destination. As the first sight of windows glinting in the sunlight came into view - the first of what would be several cities they would pass over this day - a bitter smile made its way onto Bardock's face.

_Welcome home..._

-o-

  
Despite Goku's revelation, the three kids had continued to search the house from top to bottom, hoping that maybe he'd been wrong. They'd searched everywhere the capsules could be and many places they couldn't be, but to no avail. It had taken them three days to go through every room in the house thoroughly, and in the end they had had no choice but to conclude that Goku was right. Trunks had accidentally taken to the future Vegeta's only means of space travel. 

"I'm stuck here..." Vegeta sighed and pulled his knees up to his chest so he could rest his chin on them and stare blankly at the wall. Sitting next to him on the bed that had once belonged to Bardock was Goku, his legs dangling idly over the edge of the bed. Both boys had been sitting there in silence for several minutes, trying to digest this unexpected turn of events. Somewhere in another room the faint sound of Bulma's voice drifted to their ears as the blue haired girl tried to make arrangements for a rather hefty order of take-out. Of the three of them, Goku was the best cook... not that that was saying much. Bulma had quickly decided that it was in her - pardon, _their _- best interests to have someone else do the cooking. Today they were having Chinese.

"I'm sorry..." Goku mumbled, though in truth he was not. Oh, it wasn't that he took any delight in Vegeta's predicament, and he really did feel bad for him, but if there wasn't any way for Vegeta to go back home, then that meant that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Goku didn't think he would have liked it very much if he had lost all of his new friends in a single day.

"If I had a scouter, I could use it to send a signal back to Vegeta-sei," the young prince continued dully. "But we couldn't find any of those, either. And according to that Bulma girl, none of the technology on this planet is advanced enough to reach that far. And space ships?" He gave a short, bitter laugh. "At the speed Earth space ships fly, I'd be an old man by the time I got back home!" He was exaggerating a little bit, but Goku didn't feel like calling him on it. The point was still the same.

In an effort to cheer his friend up, Goku scooted over to Vegeta's side and put a hand on his shoulder, just as he imagined his father would have done. "Bulma's really smart," he said positively. "If she starts working on it now, I bet she can find a way to get you home in no time. Besides, even if she can't, the dragonballs will be back in a year. We could always wish you back to your home." Of course, there was always the possibility that after living on Earth for a year, Vegeta wouldn't _want_ to go home... not that Goku would mind...

"Yeah... I guess there's that..." the older boy sighed, looking only slightly mollified. "But that's still a year of being stuck here with nothing to do and nowhere to go..."

"Don't say that, Vegeta!" Goku cried, jumping to his feet. With a grin on his face, he started hopping up and down on the bed. "There's lots to do here on Earth! We can travel around the world and find strong people to fight and learn new techniques from, or hunt for pirate treasure, or just look at everything there is t'see! I'm sure there's lots of things on Earth you've never seen before. C'mon, Vegeta, it'll be like an adventure!"

Apparently he must have said something right, because as Vegeta looked up at his bouncing companion, the gloominess in his eyes seemed to dissipate a little. "An adventure?" he echoed, his voice an odd mixture of emotions that Goku couldn't begin to sort out even if he'd wanted to.

Goku stopped bouncing, though the grin never left his face. "Yeah! That's what I was doing before you an' tousan an' Goten an' Trunks an' Radditz showed up. Now that they're gone-" The grin flickered slightly, then returned in full force. "-I'm gonna go back to travelin' and training." Holding out his hand in Vegeta's direction, he smiled at the other boy hopefully. "Do you wanna come with me?"

_Do you wanna come with me?_

_Vegeta? Do you wanna spar?_

_I bet you're really strong!_

_I want to fight the strongest fighters there are so I can become as strong as them!_

_Oniichan said I'm learning really fast! He says I need to work on my mouth blast, though. It keeps coming out of my nose._

_If the Earth needs me to stay..._

_I'm gonna miss you..._

_Do you wanna come with me?_

Vegeta hesitated, searching Goku's eyes for a moment, then slowly smiled and reached up to accept the offered hand. "Sure."

**--THE END--**

  


**_-Questions and Answers-_**

  
The more observant of you may have noted that Bardock's vision of the making of the wish and the way the scene actually played out, although very similar, were not identical. Careless mistake? Nope. I did it on purpose. A subtle way to point out something that I'm sure a lot of you are wondering: _Were Bardock's two visions of the future the _only_ possibilities?_ The mere fact that the final scene of the previous chapter deviated from his vision should tell you the answer to that question. Rarely in real life do people see all of the possibilities. Solutions to a problem that seem obvious to some are often lost in the heat of the moment, and people make mistakes when put under pressure. The future is far too unstable for even a seer such as Bardock to be able to predict accurately. Besides, Bardock's rather new to the whole seer business, so he doesn't know the limitations of his gift/curse yet. 

_So why didn't you let Bardock and/or Radditz stay in the past, or let Goku go to the future?_ For one thing, the whole purpose of this story was to get Bardock to the future, so obviously I'm not going to leave him in the past. Radditz was just an extra bonus, something that happened because, logically, by using the reasons I used to force Bardock into the future, Radditz, too, would be forced to go. Goku had to stay because, to be honest, I didn't want him in the next story. Too many Goku's spoil the soup (or, in their case, eat it all before anyone else gets some). Believe it or not, Goku's a difficult character to write (especially when you're writing him from his point of view), and two of him is more than I want to handle. And, as I explained in the previous chapter, he's _needed_ in his timeline. I know that many of you were hoping for a "happily ever after", but that's another thing that doesn't always happen in real life. Real life is full of unfinished stories, unresolved relationships, unsaid goodbyes, unspoken feelings, and so many other regrettable things. Happy endings _do_ happen, but not as often as we would like, and not always in the way we want them (see the above chapter). This story was not designed with a happy ending in mind. Fortunately for the readers, though, it at least had closure and resolution, two key elements needed for a feeling of _satisfaction_, though not necessarily happiness. I hope you all were _satisfied_ with the way things worked out.

_Why didn't you have the characters use the wish to wish away the microchips? Surely Goten and Trunks wouldn't be so selfish that they wouldn't be willing to stick around until one set of dragonballs or another was available again._ ... Shut up, you. But seriously, people make mistakes when they have to decide things too quickly. Nobody thought about that possibility until it was too late (if they even thought of it at all). Hindsight is 20/20, and readers always see better than the characters do. And, no, I didn't just say this to fill plot holes. I really did consider this problem when I was writing those chapters, then decided to allow the characters to miss this possibility. It makes them more "human". I also have another reason for letting the characters miss this solution, but it has to do with the sequel, and I hesitate to say anything that might spoil the story. Not only that, but I might change my mind about it, so I don't want to be tied down by explaining it now.

_Wasn't Goku planning on getting Vegeta wished to the future?_ Yes, he was... but that's another thing that slipped his mind in the rush of things. Besides, he thought that idea up when he thought _he_ was going to go to the future, too. Maybe deep down in his heart, Goku deliberately forgot to mention this to his father or Vegeta because he didn't want to be the only one left behind. Even if this is the case, it probably wasn't a conscious decision. Goku just doesn't do things like that on purpose. And since Bardock didn't know about the plan in the first place, he couldn't very well add Vegeta to the wish - especially not after spending all that time convincing Vegeta to go back to Vegeta-sei and be king!

_Did you forget that you can send the dragon back without having to use the wish right away?_ No. Goten and Trunks are the ones who forgot. They're only kids, after all. And nobody else even _knew_ about that little detail. Besides, the way Shenlon was breathing down their necks, he certainly wasn't giving anyone the impression that they didn't _have_ to make the wish now.

_What about the people in the future? What have they been doing all this time? Why haven't they found some way to rescue Goten and Trunks?_ Um... hello? We're dealing with _time travel_, people. And not just any time travel, but time travel via a wish made with the dragonballs. The wish was granted in such a way that almost _no time at all_ had passed since Trunks wished himself to the past in pursuit of Goten. The people in the future simply didn't have the _time_ to find a way to rescue them before they came back. Besides, this wasn't _their_ story. It wasn't even really Goten and Trunks's story. This was _Bardock's_ story. Only the people and events that directly influenced him went into this fic, and once Goten and Trunks left, the people in the future didn't qualify anymore. They'll just have to wait until the next story.

_What was the deal with the dual visions?_ As Bardock guessed, his ability to see the future of his timeline got screwed up when a second timeline got involved, a second timeline that, if he went to it, would then become _his_ timeline. The gift/curse couldn't decipher which future was _his_ future, so it showed him both. Also, as I explained earlier, the future is not set in stone. What Bardock sees is probably the _most likely_ future, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. There is always more than one possibility.

_Did Vegeta become a Super Saiyan?_ No. _Did he come close?_ Yes. But he didn't actually make the transition, and neither he nor Bardock nor anyone else noticed his almost-transformation. In my mind, Vegeta isn't strong enough yet to handle the Super Saiyan transformation. And since I've taken great pains to avoid telling people strength in terms of numbers, none of you can argue otherwise. (grin)

_So who's stronger, really? Bardock or Vegeta?_ At first, Bardock most definitely is, not only in terms of strength, but also training and experience. Towards the end of this story, Vegeta comes _close_ to Bardock's strength, but he's still a little bit weaker, which is only natural, given the huge age gap between the two. I firmly refuse to believe that Vegeta was stronger at birth than every single Saiyan (except his father, of course) just because he's the son of the (at the time) strongest Saiyan and is descended from the Legendary Super Saiyan. Of course, during the one moment when he _almost_ became a Super Saiyan, he was stronger than Bardock.

_Did you just make Vegeta schizophrenic?_ No! ...although I have to admit, I _did_ toy with the idea a little... just like I toyed with the idea of making Goku go permanently blind, but never actually _did_ it. No, Vegeta's just a stressed little kid, and if you really want to pin a psychological term on him for what he's going through, it's most likely Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Nothing so serious as multiple personalities or paranoid delusions or whatever else you (or Bardock) thought I might have done to him. After all, the poor kid lost his father not all that long ago, and as rocky as the relationship between him and King Vegeta no doubt was, King Vegeta was still his _father_.

_Wait, Vegeta's dad died? When was that?_ Reference to an episode of Dragonball Z that took place sometime in either the Namek Saga or the Frieza Saga. King Vegeta defied Frieza and was killed for his trouble. In the past timeline of this story, King Vegeta's death happened sometime _before _this story began. I never really mentioned the fact that King Vegeta died because, frankly, that was a can of worms I didn't want to open. So until close to the end of the fic, I only hinted that it had happened, hinted at the effects it was having on Vegeta, but never directly addressed the issue. Maybe someday I'll write a story about Vegeta's feelings on the matter... Maybe.

_Speaking of sequels, are you ever going to write one about the past timeline with Goku, Vegeta, and Bulma?_ Probably not. However, if someone wants to play in my proverbial sandbox and write such a story themselves, feel free to ask me about it.

_Will you write a romance about Bardock and Sereri?_ No promises. I had originally intended to, but have since realized that I wield romance like a donkey wields a paintbrush (create the obvious metaphors for yourself). I have also since discovered that it's not always wise to bring people back from the dead just because you can or want to. Death is not a boundary to be crossed lightly. Sometimes it's best to let dead characters rest in peace, despite the fact that no one in the DBZ universe seems to want to let anyone stay dead. With one "dead" character (Bardock) already "miraculously" being brought to the present timeline, adding Sereri to the mix would feel very trite. If I ever _do_ bring Sereri into one of my stories, it will either be a story that takes place in the past before she died... or I will have a very, _very _good reason for bringing her back to life.

_Why did you stop there?! I wanted to see everyone's reactions to Bardock and Radditz being alive!!_ That's what sequels are for. (grin) Seriously, though, that material doesn't fit in with the WFTP story. Wish For The **Past** is a story about the _past_. Things that take place in the present timeline have been reserved for the sequel. Good authors need to know how to keep stories separate, otherwise they become one big conglomeration that never ends.

**EDIT: February 3, 2008**

_Where is Seer of Life? _See author note at the bottom of the page.

_**To all my readers,**_

  
More than two years and nine months after this story first began, it is now finished. But is this the end? No. This is only the beginning. I started this story with the sole intent of setting up for the next story (tentatively titled Seer of Life), the story I _really_ wanted to write. So why didn't I start with that story instead of a prequel that took the better part of three years to write? I had my reasons. 

For one thing, while this was not my first foray into the realms of fanfiction, it _was_ my first DBZ fic, and it had been a long time since I'd written anything at all. I was admittedly very rusty, unfamiliar with the characters and universe, and I desperately needed practice before tacklingSeer of Life. Looking back at all the things I've written in Wish For The Past, I find myself cringing at all the glaring errors I made, inconsistencies in character, age, timeline, history, etc., the poor quality of a lot of the writing itself, and so forth. Though I've tried to avoid the worst of the clichés, I've still committed many things that I now find myself regretting. It makes me wonder just why in the world any of you stuck around this long and continued to read my story. In fact, it amazes me that anyone made it past the first chapter! You people must either be nuts, or a lot more forgiving than I deserve.

Another big reason behind writing Wish For The Past first is that I'm a really big fan of _believable_ plot premises. I simply couldn't find a simple, logical way to bring Bardock to the future that didn't stink of _deus ex machina_. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it literally translates as "god from a machine", in reference to old plays where an actor playing a deity would be suspended in the air by means of ropes, pulleys, etc., i.e. a "machine". Nowadays, it is used to describe "any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve an insoluble difficulty", as defined by the FFN web dictionary. This poor plot device gets so abused, especially in the form of wishes made with the dragonballs in the DBZ universe, because it's so stinkin' _easy_. I could have used the dragonballs to get Bardock "accidentally" wished to the future. I could have created a rip in the space-time continuum through means "mysterious and unexplainable" and let Bardock just _happen_ to fall through before Frieza could kill him. I could have gotten a sorcerer to raise him from the dead (never mind how the sorcerer would know who Bardock was, or why on earth he'd want to bring a relatively weak Saiyan - compared to the modern warriors - back to life). There's literally thousands of ways I could have gotten the scenario I wanted, with Bardock alive in the present, post-Buu timeline, but they all shared the same problem of making me gag at the unreality of it all. To put it simply, it was all too convenient. (I know that other writers have employed some of the very methods I just described, and I'm not saying that their stories are cliché or badly written or have too much _deus ex machina_ or whatever. It's just that those particular methods didn't feel right for _my _story or writing style.)

Unfortunately, I had no solution to the problem. What I wanted to happen _just wouldn't happen_ in reality. So I settled for the next best thing: If I couldn't get Bardock to the future by realistic, non-_deus ex machina_ means, I'd simply have to use one of the aforementioned plot devices, but bring him there in a roundabout fashion so that it didn't just scream "LAZY AUTHOR!!" to any and all who read it. After all, it's not the _deus ex machina_ itself that's evil, it's the author's laziness and lack of planning behind it that makes people want to throw up. However, if you apply a little plot, a little thought, characterization, allowance for time to pass, trials and quests, and so forth, you take the easiness out of the "easy way out", and suddenly the _deus ex machina_ becomes a lot more tolerable.

Thus, Wish For The Past was born. Instead of just wishing Bardock to the future, I tossed Goten into the past, with Trunks soon joining him. Trunks wasn't originally going to be in the story, he just kind of snuck in, but I'm glad that he did. He was a very useful character to have in the story, plus his presence made things a lot more interesting. Together, these two demi-Saiyans had to overcome all sorts of difficulties in their quest to get back to their own timeline. It wasn't even their intention to bring Bardock back with them! Not until the very end, anyway. So when the end finally came and Bardock landed himself in the future, what started out as a simple _deus ex machina_ became a _lot_ more believable. It also turned itself into a monster-sized story, which was _not_ my intention at all.

My problem is that I'm a rather thorough writer. I don't like skipping scenes and events just because I don't want to write them. I hate cheating the reader out of scenes they want or deserve to see just for the sake of my laziness. I hate summarizing conversations by saying "He explained what just happened" _unless_ I've already written those things for the reader to read. I dislike jumping ahead in time by quickly summarizing the past events, _unless_ those events were boring and unnecessary to the plot. Nobody needs or wants to hear about the characters washing their laundry. Nobody wants to read five repeats of something because five characters asked the same question at separate times. Nobody cares to hear about the eight or so hours that pass during each and every night where _nothing at all happens_. You get the idea. In cases like these, I don't mind so much writing "...later that day..." and leaving the details to the readers' imagination. If I really don't want to write about something, I'll have a plot device come in and save me. Case in point: Bardock's confrontation with Vegeta prior to Pilaf kidnapping them. I'd gotten so sick of wallowing in that emotional morass, I was desperate to escape. So I had Pilaf use The Thing and nip that conversation in the bud. Of course, I paid for it later in the form of spending large sections of the last few chapters devoted to dealing with Bardock and Vegeta's relationship, but it got me out of the immediate problem. I still do a lot of these things from time to time, but not often enough to save a story like this from becoming a 200,000 word novel which I'm sure some of you thought would never end. I can only hope that I didn't bore anyone to death.

One of the biggest challenges in writing this story was the characters' ages. Specifically, I'm referring to Goku, Vegeta, Bulma, and Radditz. These four characters are younger in my story than in any episode of the anime they ever appeared in (not counting scenes where we see Goku as a baby), except for Vegeta. Yes, in one episode of DBZ there's a moment where we get to see Vegeta as a child, but it's too short to get a real feel for his character at that age. Writing characters so that their behavior matches their age, but still keeping them "in character" for their older versions, is very, very difficult. Bulma's eleven, too young to be _really_ interested in boys (a big part of her older character) but just old enough to start looking. Eleven and twelve year old girls (at least the ones I know) seem more infatuated with the _idea_ of dating boys than with the boys themselves. That's how I imagine Bulma's character to be. Radditz was a bit easier, since he wasn't around for very long in the anime. All we got to see of him was his "big bad evil Saiyan" side for the few hours he spent trying to convince Goku to join him, and we don't really know how much of that was a "tough guy" act and how much was the real Radditz. Portraying him as a somewhat rebellious teenager couldn't have been too far off the mark, and it certainly wasn't very hard to do. With Goku and Vegeta, however, I had a problem. Neither of these two characters is very prone to showing their "weaker" emotions, such as pain, grief, sorrow, etc. Simple fact of the matter is that Goku and Vegeta _don't cry_. You can count the times they've shed tears on one hand and still have fingers left over! However, I was writing them as young children, and children's emotions are much closer to the surface, less easily suppressed. It was very tricky at times balancing their "emotional age" with their "emotional character", one that sometimes left readers (and me) with the feeling that the characters were acting out of character. To a certain extent, this also applied to Bardock, but because of his circumstances, not his age. He's another "tough guy" Saiyan in the Bardock special, but when his whole world got turned upside down and he suddenly got himself landed with playing the role of "father" to a bunch of chibis, it stands to reason that his character would _have_ to change, to adapt to the situation. On the one hand, it feels like I've drastically warped his character... but on the other hand, people _do_ change. It would have been more out of character for him _not_ to change. I have mixed feelings about how everyone turned out, but in the end I don't think I did too bad a job.

But now the story _has_ ended. Which is good, because, as many of you have no doubt noticed, I've been running out of steam. When I first started writing this story, I easily belted out one-two chapters a day. Granted, the quality of those chapters was somewhat lacking, but the energy and motivation to write them was there in full force. Now the quality of the writing has increased dramatically (or so I like to think), but the price for this is that it takes me a lot longer to write. Not only that, I have since started going to college, and that takes up a lot of my time and energy these days. There have been months on end where I simply didn't have the will to type a single word, let alone a whole _chapter_. It didn't help when I stopped receiving cable TV and had no more access to DB/DBZ other than what episodes I had taped. (I didn't list GT in there because I have _never_ had access to it. Not that I'm missing much, or so I'm told.) I need semi-constant exposure to a universe in order to keep my inspiration and interest in peak operation condition, and reading other people's fanfiction just isn't enough. Besides, all good things must eventually come to an end. Otherwise, they end up being dragged out too long, and it "(feels) all thin, sort of _stretched_... like butter scraped over too much bread," as Bilbo Baggins put it in The Fellowship of the Ring. The story gets tired, the author gets frustrated, and the readers get bored with it. It's happened to a lot of good book series I've read, where the author didn't know when to _quit_, and I didn't want that to happen to this story. I'm not certain if I succeeded or not.

Does this mean that I'm going to quit writing DBZ and, like so many other authors, move on to some other fandom? No. At least, not anytime soon. Only two other fandoms have ever drawn my interest enough that I'd be willing to write fanfiction for them, and one of them I refuse to write because it's English-based (as in, not American), and I'd drive myself nuts trying to force my very American writing style to conform to an English universe (which is actually rather ironic, since my first fanfictions _were_ based on an English universe. Yet another reason why my first attempts at fanfiction stank.) The other fandom may very well get a few stories from me, but it's not enough to permanently draw me away from my DBZ fics.

No, what will really happen is that I will continue to be a frustratingly slow-to-update author. With Wish For The Past finished, I will _not_ be charging straight on to write Seer of Life. I will probably take a break, then work on Wild Occurrences, Chibi Vegeta, and/or High School? But I'm an Alien!, not to mention Dark Future, the alternate ending for Wish For The Past. I'd like to cut down on the number of "in progress" stories I have before starting yet another story that I'd be obliged to update every once in a while.

Speaking of Dark Future, when I _do_ write it, I will be posting it as its own story, as I don't know for certain whether I'll be able to maintain a PG13 rating for it. I fully expect it to be dark (obviously), bloody, and violent, though _not_ sexually explicit, and depending on how I write it, it may very well earn an R. I certainly don't want younger readers who read Wish For The Past to be unwittingly exposed to R-rated material.

**EDIT: February 3, 2008**

In regards to Dark Future, see author note at the bottom of the page.

_**-Thank Yous-**_

  
I would like to thank all of the people who read this story. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of you (neither FFN nor MMO make it easy to tell), and it humbles me that so many people from so many places around the world have willingly opened my story and subjected themselves to hours, days, and sometimes even weeks of reading the seventy chapters I wrote for this fic. In fact, several of you have said that you _reread_ this story! As I said before, you guys must either be certifiably insane or you have the patience of saints, but either way you guys are great. 

And then there are the readers who took the time to review. Some of you liked what you read and wrote me notes of praise, encouragement, and admiration. Some of you sent demands for more updates, more speed, more chapter length, more et cetera. Some of you hated me for clichés, out-of-character characters, poor writing, slow updates, _deus ex machina_, short chapters, my personal beliefs, the lack of romance, the way I poorly handled what little romance there was, and so much more, and you flamed me accordingly. Some of you wrote to me with suggestions for the story, constructive criticism, questions about things I'd written that confused you, or guesses as to what I had planned for the future. For all that (yes, _all_ of it) I would like to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. In addition to teaching me patience, I credit reader feedback with making me a better writer and story-teller, and I could not have gotten this far without all the input I received from you guys. Without the reviews you sent me, there is no doubt in my mind that this story would have either ended up in the desolate wasteland of forever-unfinished stories, or it would have ended early and would have had a really, really crappy ending. You guys are amazing. I hope you continue to do for others what you have done for me.

Last, but not least, I want to thank my friends, family, and beta readers. You helped me beat writer's block, supported me in times of depression, encouraged me during bouts of hatred for my own story, guided me in picking the best options for how to write this fic, helped me catch plot holes, spelling/grammar/punctuation errors, poor word choices, and so much more. It is because of you that this story is as good as it is. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

_**-Goodbye-**_

  
It's been a lot of fun writing this fic, but I can't say I'm sorry to see it end. I've spent a lot of time on this story, so it's rather nice to see it finally reach completion. Besides, where one story stops, another begins, so this isn't really "the end". Likewise, this isn't really "goodbye", but more of a " 'til we meet again". In the mean time, feel free to check out my other stories! (Cue shameless plugs.) 

In the universe of Wish For The Past:

Tails Times Two  
A Father's Pride  
High School? But I'm an Alien!

Non-WFTP stories:

Chibi Vegeta  
Goteneo and Truliet  
Wild Occurrences  
Goku Jr.'s Headband

**EDIT: February 3, 2008**

Despite what I said in the latter half of this chapter, it is very unlikely that I will ever get around to writing Seer of Life or Dark Future. I had many good intentions regarding those stories, as well as to polish up this story and remove the (admittedly many) rough edges in the earlier chapters, but as they say, "the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry."

Thanks again for reading.

-Burenda-


End file.
